Heaven's Devil & Hell's Angel
by ShimmerandShine29
Summary: Takes place at the end of New Moon. Edward is back, but not without complications. VERY IMPORTANT TO READ BEGINNING AUTHOR'S NOTE. IT INCLUDES SOME VERY IMPORTANT DETAILS. rating for language and stuff. *AU*
1. Chapter 1: Misconceptions

**IMPORTANT TO READ A/N**

**A/N: This is a story set at the end of New Moon when Edward comes back. A few things are different though: 1) Jacob doesn't exist in her life.(sorry team jacob), 2)Bella lives on her own. I don't know, let's just _pretend _it's legal. 3)Charlie and Renee are still together and live in Phoenix. 4)Bella _chose_ to come to Forks (you can make up your own reason why). 5) Bella is _very_ well off. She got a large inheritance from her grandmother, so she is able to afford the nice things she has. (Most pics on profile)**

**Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just someone who read it and is now an obsessed fangirl of Edward Cullen. **

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"Isabella Marie Swan, if you think for one second that I will damn-"

"God, Edward! How many times do we have to have this argument before you finally realize that you won't be damning me for eternity!," I cut him off.

Here we were, in my room, once again arguing over what else? My soul. My freakin' soul. This was probably the fifth time within the past three days that the subject came up. Every time it was the same exact thing. And I was getting absolutely sick of it.

"Edward, how can I make you see that you not only have a soul, but a beautiful one at that," I questioned, wondering how someone with such perfect vision could be so blind.

"Bella, how many times do I have to tell _you _that this life is not one to wish for? It's a life of solitary misery. I can't do that to you," he said, his voice filled with something that sounded like a close cousin of sadness. His eyes- his beautiful, golden eyes- held 108 years of regret within their depths.

"So, your entire existence has held nothing but misery?"

"Exactly."

"It's still like that?" , confusion and realization clouding my question.

"Yes."

This struck something within me. Suddenly I couldn't help but let the hurt creep into my voice at this one, simple word.

"So, what you're saying is, you are still miserable?"

"Yes."

That's when my vision blurred. The tears I had learned to restrain during all of our other arguments came pouring down my face. This was the first time he had ever said that to me.

"Okay, then," my voice was barely audible to me, but I knew he heard it. Suddenly, he was backtracking, realizing what he actually said and his voice was filled with regret and disbelief.

"What?...Bella..No…I didn't…I'm not…" by the end of his chaotic words,he was shouting. Probably because I was at the bottom of the staircase making my way to the door. If I made him miserable, then why should I continue to put him through the torture of being in my presence? My worst fears had been confirmed.

Edward hated me.

**EPOV**

What the hell is wrong with me?

She asked if I was miserable, and I said yes. I didn't mean what it sounded like. I didn't mean that she made me miserable. She did the complete opposite. She made me whole. She extracted the misery from my existence and injected love in its place.

After all of the convincing I had to do when I returned last week, and the convincing I was still doing, trying to make her see how I loved her, and I practically say I _hate_ her. I meant that I was miserable in regards to the conversation, not to _her_. How could she think that? It killed me to watch her face transform into a portrait of sadness. No, it wasn't sadness. It was grief- a painful anguish took over my beautiful Bella's eyes.

How could this have happened? One minute I was holding my beloved in my arms and telling her I wasn't going anywhere. The next I was standing in her room, trying to figure out where she could be.

I had to fix this. I had to make it right. When I was watching her leave, I _tried_ to make my feet move. I _tried_ to run to catch her so I could kiss her and make things better. But I was frozen in shock.

Maybe she was still here. Maybe she just went downstairs and is waiting for me to follow her. _Yes, that's it. I just need to go downstairs and I'll find her._ Within a millisecond of this thought I was downstairs.

"Bella? Bella, love? Sweetheart, where are you?", I shouted, hoping she was playing a prank and would spring out at me at any moment.

When minutes passed, I realized that I couldn't hear her heartbeat anymore. _How did she get so far?_

I ran out of the door at top speed. Her car was still in the driveway, so she couldn't have gone as far as I thought. Right?


	2. Chapter 2: A Broken Love

**A/N: Hey guys. Thanks for all of the reviews, favorites, and alerts. I put some new pics on my profile for this story. It's kind of important to look at them so that you know the kind of life Bella has in this story. Okay, that's all. On with chapter 2.

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BPOV**

Don't ask me where I was going. _I _don't even know. But I _did_ know I had to get the hell out of there. I needed time to think. No, not to think- to mourn. To mourn the loss of a love I never knew could exist. Then again, you can't lose something you never had. He never loved me. He said it himself. When he left, he said it then. He tried to take it back, but if "I'm miserable" isn't a confirmation of a non-existent love and a _very_ existent hatred, then I don't know what is.

At first, I was walking. Okay- I was running out the door like I saw a ghost in my house. Which, I did. I saw the ghost of happiness mocking my very existence right in front of my eyes. Then I slowed to walking once I reached the lake in the back of my house. Well, it was more of a pond really, very easy to jump over. Which is what I did. That's when I broke into a jog, which became a faster jog, which became a run, which then became the very marathon-like sprint I was in right now. Amazingly enough, I found that when I ran, I became lighter. I was no longer klutzy Bella whenever I ran. It was honestly a miracle. I found that out the first time I ran aimlessly. The day Edward left. The day my sunny world became a distant illusion and was replaced by a globe of grief and sorrow.

The day I died.

Still running, these thoughts came into my mind. Thoughts of what could have been. Thoughts of what I hoped could still be. A lost hope, that was. I was now about three miles behind my house. Well, it was more on the verge of a mansion. _Ahhh, behold, my unknown destination_. I should have known this was where my feet would take me. It was amazing. Like my body knew what my mind needed.

I was standing in front of the most gorgeous piece of nature I had ever seen. This beautiful waterfall that covered a cave. So I got a little wet when I went into the cave from having to go through the waterfall to get there. Ok, my clothes were nearly drenched. But it was definitely worth it. Besides, it was nearly fifty out. That is one of the warmest Forks has ever been. But my brief moment of relief when I saw where I was quickly crumbled when I remembered the reason I was here. Not even one whole minute passed before I found myself crumbled in the corner with tears falling from my face in buckets. Then I heard a very weird sound, a combination of a howl, a sob, and a screech. Oh, that was me.

How did I end up like this again? How did I go from being elated with happiness to being drowned in anguish? He just didn't understand. He just didn't understand _me_. Of course I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be someone he deserved, not someone he thought of as a burden. But, no. He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't change me. He knows that he has a soul. I know he knows that. He has to. This means I also knew it was just an excuse he used so he wouldn't have to change me. So he wouldn't have to be around me for that long. I used to wonder why he wouldn't want me to be like him. But that was when he fooled me into thinking he loved me. So, if that wasn't love, then what was he doing? Just humoring me? Did he get bored with his life and figure that he needed a new game? This just made me angry. My sadness was replaced with anger. But I still sobbed. I sobbed the hardest I had ever sobbed in my life.

**EPOV**

I ran straight after Bella. After _my_ Bella. It was difficult at first because I couldn't pick up her scent right away. That was not a good sign. That meant more time has passed than I thought. So all I could do was follow the muddy footprints of her boots. I meant to ask her about that. Why she all of a sudden had a sudden change in style. Trust me, I'm not complaining, it was just unusual for Bella. _Bella. Where on Earth could you be? _I finally picked up her scent after about a mile, which is much further than I thought she'd go. But I guess I should have expected this. Who wouldn't run away from a monster like me?

Three miles I had been traveling, when I heard a faint heartbeat. _Bella? _I followed the sound, becoming stronger with each step I took. Where it took me I did not expect. It was a waterfall. _Why would Bella come here?_ It was beautiful on its own, but I knew that once I saw Bella, it would look nothing further from a garbage bag. I heard her heartbeat stronger now and her scent was stronger as well._ She must be close. But where is she? _Then I heard the one sound that could tear my world apart with its first note: Bella's tortured sobs. I had trained my body to that sound. Whenever I heard the commencing tone of her cries, my body immediately reacted by running straight towards where it came from. I didn't even have to think about it. Before I knew it, I had run through the waterfall, and was now staring at a broken Bella on the ground.

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**A/N: OK, that's chapter 2. Sorry these chapters are so short. I'll try to make them longer. Please review or message me to let me know if you guys like this or not, and what needs to be changed or what could be made better. Plot suggestions also welcome. **


	3. Chapter 3: Dawn of Realization

**A/N: I wanted to get this to you guys as soon as possible. So i didn't have time to edit. Please excuse any typos. i wil probably edit it later. Review please and let me know how im doing! : )

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EPOV

"Oh…Bella, I-", but she cut me off, her voice hoarse from her crying.

"Why…sob… are you…sob… here? Shouldn't you be finding someone else to humiliate?", she questioned, hurt and something else-was it anger?-coloring her tone. _Humiliate?_ What did she mean by that?

"Bella, what are you talking about? Why wouldn't I be here? Why wouldn't I want-"

"Because you don't love me. You never _have_ loved me. You never _will _love me. So just go away, and find someone else to make a fool out of", she cut me off again. If it were possible, she was crying even harder now.

My angel- my beautiful, loving angel- thought I didn't love her? What was she thinking?

"Bella, what're you-"

"You don't hurt someone you love, Edward. I know all about it. I know you were just playing a game. Humoring me. How many other people have you done this to? Do you get some kind of sick joy out of it?"

"Bell-" she didn't even give me a chance to finish her name.

As she stood up, she started to walk towards me, but then thought better of it. I wasn't about to walk towards her either, for fear that she didn't want me to. "Tell me, Edward! Tell me why you did this! Tell me why you went through all that trouble to be around me when you clearly didn't feel a thing the whole time!," she was shouting now-very , very loudly. "Tell me why you took every possible step to make me believe you? Tell me why…", her voice was a hoarse whisper in the wind now. If I were human, I wouldn't even have noticed she had said that last part.

"Tell you what, Bella?", I said, trying to decipher what she could possibly be thinking. Where had these lies come from and, more importantly, how could she believe them?

Her eyes held every painful emotion you could ever think of, almost turning her chocolate orbs black with the intensity of their sadness. She slid down the wall of the cave and slipped her arms around her knees that were now under her chin, as if she was trying to hold herself together, to hold her emotions inside of her before they seeped into the night air. Trembling, she uttered the most heartbreaking words I have ever heard in my one hundred and eight years of being.

"Tell me why…tell me why you can't love me," she spoke in a breath so soft it was almost inaudible to even _my _ears.

That was it. I couldn't take this nonsensical thinking any longer. Not only was it shattering my unbeating heart but it was even making me angry to hear her make these false accusations regarding my love.

"Tell you why I can't love you?!! TELL YOU WHY I CAN'T LOVE YOU?!! Bella, are you out of your mind?!!!," my voice rang louder with each syllable I spoke. By the time the last was out, I was practically a seething maniac. She looked like she was about to say something, but I wasn't even near finished. "Well, if all of it was an act, then I should win a goddamn Oscar, because I fooled myself too. I thought I've only told you-oh, I don't know- ten times a day since the day we first met that I love you! I'm sorry, but were you there when I saved you from the van? Were you there when I ripped James' head off for almost killing you? Were you there when I told you what I was? Were you there when I tried to get myself murdered when I thought you were dead? Were you there every time I kissed you even though the monster inside of me was dying to drain every drop of blood from your body? !! ," I never knew it was possible for my voice to reach this level of intensity. I was even scaring myself. Trying to calm myself down, and to take the fear out of Bella's eyes, I tried to soften my voice.

"Were you there every night I held you?," I was walking towards her now, I didn't care if she didn't want me to. I had been deprived of her touch for too long. " Were you there when I told you I'd die for you?", she was looking at me now with eyes full of confusion, sadness, and- hope?

I was kneeling in front of her now, our faces only inches apart. "Were you there, Bella? Or was that just an imposter," those last two questions came out in a breath before I leaned in even closer.

"I was there," such a simple statement that held so much meaning made its way through her lips. I couldn't take it anymore. I kissed her. I kissed her with everything I had within me. I kissed her out of anger, out of sadness, out of remorse, but most of all- out of love.

**BPOV**

He had never kissed me this way before. It was as if he had taken every bit of passionate emotion he had and transferred them into my soul with this all-consuming kiss. How could I have doubted him? How could I have doubted _this_? This, this love that we shared. This emotion, this passion.

When he pulled his lips away, I shivered. Not from being cold, but from being loved. Edward being Edward, however, thought it was from the cold. For this reason, he pulled away even further.

"No, Edward, don't move away. Don't ever pull yourself away from me," I said in a whisper, desperate for him to just hold me tighter than he ever has and say he forgave me for being so naïve. He complied, although not after giving me the classic Edward look that seemed to say 'this is going against my better judgment but I just don't care'. I felt so much better now that all of that was out of my system and I was in Edward's cool embrace. We sat there in silence for at least an hour, just content with being loved by the other. But, there was still something I needed to say. I had thought about it a lot, but never had the courage to say it. I guess I was fearful of how he would take it. But I had come to a new revelation, and I felt I was a new person after this. A person that would do anything to become the woman Edward deserved. I felt it would finally put an end to the whole "change" argument. Here went nothing.

"Edward?", I asked. This seemed to pull him out of whatever dreamland he was in because he looked slightly surprised that I had spoken.

"Yes, angel?" _Ahhh, there it was._ That would definitely help me with the point I was about to make.

"I was just wondering-and, please, don't get angry- I just want to ask you about this and have a calm conversation about it."

"Okay…", he gave me a wary look.

"Well, I was thinking, you know how you said that you didn't want to take away my soul because you believed you didn't have one?" I began.

"Bella…" he started in a very disapproving, almost exasperated tone. But I wouldn't let him go any further.

"You said you believe you don't have a soul, and that is the reason for your fear of turning me, correct?"

"Yes…" he gave me another wary look, so I knew I had to get this out quick.

"And you say that when I die," he winced at this statement, "you will follow after as soon as you can. You say that not only can you not live in a world without me, but we could then be together in the afterlife. Correct?" The confusion was clearly written on his face as he confirmed this with a nod.

"But you just called me an angel and have on several occasions." The confusion was very prominent on his features now. He was probably wondering where I was going with this, and why I would bring up such a thing.

"And you constantly say that you are destined to go to Hell."

"So?" This was the first word he had spoken that sounded not only confused, but- nervous?

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, angels are from Heaven. And you constantly say you're going to Hell-"

Realization clouded his face as he realized what I was about to say.

"Edward, if all of these statements are true, and you keep saying that we will have an afterlife together, then that only means one thing. Either you are a devil going to Heaven or I'm an angel going to Hell. Which is it?"


	4. Chapter 4: Confession

**Warning: Ridiculously long author's note, but is important to read. VERY IMPORTANT! **

**A/N****: Hey guys! I haven't gotten any reviews for chapter 3 yet, so I don't know how you guys took it. Was it bad, good, totally ruined the story? Let me know. Say anything. **_**Anything**_**. OK, I'm gonna move on to chapter 4 before I sound too desperate. (I know what you're thinking, "too late") Oh, and I meant to dedicate the last chapter to ..World**** for reviewing,not once, but twice and for giving me encouragement. This chapter is dedicated to ****secretlovers12****, my other encouraging reviewer. Thanks guys! **

**This chapter is all EPOV, the next I might do the same scene from BPOV, or I might just continue with the story. Let me know what you guys want for the next chapter! **

**P.S. there's a little (ok by a little I mean a lot of) swearing in this chapter, most of it courtesy of Bella. Yeah, in this story she has much more of a backbone.**

**EPOV**

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

_Either you are a devil going to Heaven or I'm an angel going to Hell. Which is it?_

I don't know. For the first time in my entire existence, I was at a loss for words. Stunned. Shocked. Speechless. How for the love of all that is holy am I supposed to respond to _that? _

"Bella, you look like you're freezing. I think I should get you home…", this was the only dumbass thing that came to mind. She didn't look cold. She looked…she looked- smug?

"Edward, do you honestly think after all of this that I am going to let you distract me with some bullshit answer?", she asked. "I want a _real_ fucking answer. Not a diversion." Wow, where was this coming from? That usually worked. I know- I'll dazzle her. I looked deep into her eyes and moved my face as close as possible to hers and spoke her name lovingly, knowingly spreading my sweet vampire breath across her face. This will definitely work.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" OK, maybe not. Who was this new Bella and what has she done with _my_ Bella? Although, I do like the fact she has more confidence now.

"Bella, I…I…I don't know what to say." I said, my voice dripping with shame for undermining her intelligence. I didn't expect her to figure this out. At least, not this quickly. So my whole "damn your soul" thing wasn't the real reason I didn't want her to change. But, I just…I couldn't tell her the real reason. I just couldn't. And she needed to understand that.

She stood up from me now, pacing the ground in front of me. God, she was beautiful. And she was angry. Oh, lord, was she angry. And if there's anything I have come to understand, it is that Bella is almost as dangerous as a vampire when she's angry.

"Well, say_ something_ Edward. Say something that actually makes some sense for once. Give me some sort of explanation. I think I deserve at least that much." And she did. She deserved the whole explanation. She deserved every single thought of mine to be revealed.

"I can't Bella. I can't," and if that wasn't true then Forks wasn't the rainiest place in Washington.

"Well, you could at least try. You could at least _try_ to tell me why you won't change me." Then she turned around and faced the opposite wall, her back to me. I heard her whisper something, "You could at least try to tell me why you don't want me forever." I knew I wasn't supposed to hear it. But as soon as it left her mouth I ran to her and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to turn around and face me. But she still kept her head down, so I took my icy palm and placed it under her chin, tilting her head up so I could see her eyes- her wounded, watery, gorgeous eyes.

"Bella, you think I don't _want_ you _with_ me forever? " She simply nodded slightly in response. For this I kissed her, trying to convey my desire for her in a simple, yet zealous sign of affection.

"Edward, don't do that. Don't try to make me feel better by pretending you want me." The way she looked at me made it seem like she honestly believed the ludicrous words coming out of her mouth.

"Bella, I'm not pretending. I really do want you with me. Do you have any idea how many times I have imagined you being like me? So I could touch you the way I want to touch you? So I could hold you the way I want to hold you? So I could kiss you the way I have been longing for ever since that first time in the meadow? ", she seemed surprised by my sudden outburst, and confusion once again swept through the depth of her beautiful brown eyes.

"Edward, I don't understand. If all that's true, then why do you protest it so much?" All right, well I guess I have to tell her now.

"I don't know if I can tell you that Bella." She looked as though she were about to throw a tantrum that would make a three year old proud, so I put up a finger to let her know I was thinking. That calmed her down some.

"You really want to know?" I looked at her for confirmation. She slowly nodded her head, waving her hand in a motion that told me to go on.

"Because…because I'm scared, Bella." There, I said it. I had finally admitted that I, Edward Cullen, was scared.

She seemed surprised by this reasoning. And her curiosity leaked into her next question.

"Scared of what Edward?"

Well, I had nothing left to lose. Maybe I could finally make her see what has been running through my mind ever since I met her.

"I'm scared that if I change you, you won't need me anymore. You won't need me, or want me. You'll finally see that you deserve something better. And then run off to find someone that you feel is worthy. You'll leave. And I'll…I'll be all alone again." I had spoken the truth, and I could feel the tears start to build within me forcefully. Tears that could never be shed.


	5. Chapter 5: Hope Restored

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has favorited, alerted , and REVIEWED this story. In case you haven't noticed, I dedicate chapters to people who review. Sooooo…I think you know where I am going with this, review and be praised. Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to ****fallenangel12683**** for their review and great advice. **

**Also, I tried posting this on Twilighted, but it was rejected. If anyone reads this that has posted something on there, and is willing to share some tips about how to get approved, it would be greatly appreciated!! **

**Disclaimer: I've been forgetting these lately but I think we all know that if we owned Edward Cullen, we wouldn't have time to write fan fiction.**

**(Sidenote: Pic of Bella's pajamas in this chapter and some other stuff for future chapters will be posted on my profile tomorrow.)**

**BPOV**

"_I'm scared that if I change you, you won't need me anymore. You won't need me, or want me. You'll finally see that you deserve something better. And then run off to find someone that you feel is worthy. You'll leave. And I'll…I'll be all alone again."_

His pleading eyes met mine for the briefest moment before he bent his head down in what could only be perceived as shame. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't even process what he was saying. So I did the only thing that came to mind, I walked over and hugged him with every ounce of the little strength I had. I tried to soothe him. I tried to tell him that I wasn't going anywhere.

That's when it happened.

Edward- my sweet, loving, strong Edward- broke down into an endless series of broken, tortured sobs.

"Oh, Edward…no, no, don't cry. Angels shouldn't cry, "I continued my attempts to calm him, to ease his pain. He almost protested this, but decided against it. Just because he viewed himself as the devil, didn't mean that I had to. In my eyes, he was much more of an angel than I was. We were crumbled on the floor now, his head against me, releasing each cry of pain and sadness into my chest. I just held him and kissed his gorgeous bronze hair, patting his head. _My poor, suffering Edward. _It killed me to see him like this.

"Shhh…shhh, Edward, sweetie, it's gonna be okay. Everything is gonna be okay, I promise," I tried to communicate every bit of love I had for him with my words, but he still seemed skeptical.

"You say that now, Bella, but what happens when you _do_ leave. I know you will, you have to. God wouldn't make me that happy. I don't deserve that happiness," he said between cries. If it were even possible, he was crying louder and harder now. How delusional could he be? He deserves everything in this world that is good. He deserves every bit of happiness that has been thrust upon him thus far, and he deserves much more.

"Edward, look at me." When he didn't, I made my voice more stern, but still soft, "Edward- Look. At. Me." This caught his attention, and when he lifted his golden eyes, locking them with mine, I couldn't help the small whimper that escaped my throat. He just looked so…so…_sad. _Never in all my life had I ever seen such a heart wrenching sight. "Edward, I'm sorry to break this to you, but I'm not going anywhere." A glimmer of hope and relief flickered in his eyes for a moment before the depression claimed its reservation once more.

"But it's true, Bella. Someone-no- some_thing _like me isn't put on this earth to have an enjoyable existence. We are meant to be in this world as nothing more than a demonic being destined to mourn the loss of life. We're not intended to _live_ it", his voice carried within it every sorrowful belief he had.

"You know that's not true, Edward. And _I_ know that _you_ don't believe that."

"Don't I?"

"No, because if you did, then you wouldn't be making any attempt to live it at all", even I was stunned by this philosophy. I normally didn't read this much into things-at least, not this quickly- but I was determined to make him realize that what he was saying held no truth.

"Okay, Bella. Let's say I _do_ change you and you stay around for the first twenty years. What happens when you realize you've made a mistake-"

"I will never, ever think that Edward."

"But, won't you get sick of me? I mean, I'm not the easiest person to be around…" he trailed off, both of us knowing the hidden meaning behind his words.

"Edward Cullen, I want you to listen and I want you to listen _good_," I took his face in my hands before continuing, "I will never, ever think that I have made the wrong decision. I will never, ever leave your side. I will never, ever stop needing you. And I will most certainly NEVER, EVER stop loving you. Do you understand?" There was a raw intensity in my voice that I had never heard before. His eyes locked with mine for the first time after my little speech, and I knew what was coming next.

**EPOV**

How could I not kiss her after that? I could feel the sadness in my eyes-_and_ in my soul- lessen with each second that my hard, icy lips were connected with her soft, warm ones. How did Bella always know exactly what to say to mend my unbeating heart? An exceptionally glorious five minutes later-with intervals of breathing for Bella, of course- I pulled my mouth away from hers. It was then I realized that it was now pitch black outside.

"Bella, love, what do you say we get you home", I questioned, more than unwilling to leave her side. I hadn't spent the night at Bella's since we returned from Italy seven days ago. Bella said that she just needed some time to adjust before we began our old habits again; it would be too overwhelming for her. I understood and complied- however unwillingly-to her request.

I took her in my arms and carried her back to her home, molding my body around hers to shield her from the powerful waves of the waterfall. When we finally made it inside, she took her human moments and changed into her pajamas. She always let me stay until she actually went to bed. She came back into the room with a new grace in her step that I had never witnessed before. I was about to leave when she grabbed my arm and I heard her whisper words I thought I would never again get a chance to hear her say.

"Edward, please, will you stay with me?"

The smile that broke out on my face probably would have stopped traffic.

"Of course, my Bella, I will always stay with you."

She climbed into her bed and let me crawl under the covers with her. She grabbed onto my torso, holding on with what I knew to be every bit of force she had within her tiny body, and with a content sigh, she was asleep.

I held her in my arms, smelling her hair and whispering sweet nothings in her ear, and all hope was restored.


	6. Chapter 6: Home

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to ****DeformedGirl**** and**** AllAloneInTheWorld ****since I never really gave her/him a proper dedication. Like I said, review and be praised, even if it's a tiny one. I don't care if it is just one word like good, bad, or unreadable, just put down **_**something**_**. All items and rooms mentioned are on my profile page. You have to copy and paste the links into your toolbar, though. (P.S. if someone knows what kind of car Bella's is could you tell me so I could make it right in the story? Google said it was a G6, but my sister says it is a Saturn Sky. Please help me! Thanks!)**

**Edward's song for Bella in this chapter: **_**I'm Yours**_**- The Script (I'll put link to song on profile tomorrow)**

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BPOV

I had never felt more rested than when I awoke the next morning. I couldn't put my finger on why, but it just felt like something was different. I turned over, and felt two cold arms tie around my waist. And just like that, every memory from yesterday came flooding back to me. I remembered the fighting, the running, my crying, Edward's crying. Oh, God-_Edward's_ crying. I had never witnessed such a thing-making this beautiful spirit cry should be deemed a sin. What was even worse was knowing that _I _was the sinner. I don't exactly know why, but it didn't feel like Edward-or at least, _my_ Edward- was back yet. Sure, he had been here _physically_ for seven days- but mentally he was not the same. This tore at me for the last week, making me wonder if I was the reason why. Oh, who am I kidding- I _knew_ I was the reason. But seeing him break down in that cave yesterday finally gave me my answer. My answer wasn't _me_; it was the fear of losing me.

As all of these thoughts were being put through a mental mixer, something softly nudged my arm. When I looked up, I saw the most breathtaking smile I had ever been permitted to see. Edward was staring down at me with his gorgeous topaz eyes and that crooked grin that made the rhythmic beating of my heart stop.

"Good morning, most perfect vampire boyfriend in the world." At this, his smile grew wider and a chuckle ripped through his chest.

"Good morning most beautiful, clumsy girl in the entire universe." And at this I blushed, as I did whenever he called me beautiful.

"Ahhh, I'm going to miss that stunning blush of yours when you're changed," he said, idly picking up random strands of my hair to play with. These words made me blush even more, and I was getting up- wait, what? I looked back at him with wide eyes, surprise clearly etched into every cell of my facial structure. The hand that was around my waist tightened, almost as if by instinct.

"Edward, what did you just say?" The question was only half rhetorical- I knew what he said, but just wanted to double check.

"I said I would miss that blush", he said, but it came out as more of a question.

"No, that last part."

"Oh, I said I would miss it when you're changed." He said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, but then his casual façade slipped and a knowing smirk appeared on his perfect lips.

I hugged him so hard he even pretended to say "ow" and contorted his face into one of mock pain.

"Edward, Edward, Edward!!!!!" I screamed his name out of disbelief and total, utter happiness.

"Yes, my love?"

"When did you change your mind?" I was honestly curious. I never thought he would have agreed to this so easily, but I guess a lot had changed since yesterday's events.

**EPOV**

"Well, I had been thinking about it, as you well know." I gave Bella a look of apology; which I hoped she knew was for my confession yesterday.

"But last night, you let me stay. I looked down at you, and you were clutching me like you were holding on for your life. That's when I realized that what you said was true, you will never let me go."

_God, I loved this woman. She was so peaceful when she slept, and she made me completely serene with each little movement and sound she made. If someone were to ask me what my favorite part of watching Bella sleep was, before I would have said hearing her talk. This is still true to some degree, but I found that what I enjoyed even more than that was hearing her contented sigh every time my skin touched hers, or when I put my arms around her. How did I ever think I could live through my existence without her by my side? I touched her hair- dying to pull her closer to me, but I didn't want to wake her-and another happy sigh left her lips for me to cherish. I pulled my hand away, not wishing to disturb her. As soon as I did, she started thrashing around and screaming."No, Edward! Don't go! Don't! Come back!" I was about to wake her up when silent tears started falling down her cheeks. I pulled her to me-wiping the tears away- and the screaming ceased immediately. She gripped my shirt with her tiny fists and started to nuzzle my chest, under my chin. I almost thought she was awake, but then she said words that I had only ever heard her say in her sleeping state. Sure, we expressed our love through other words. But every time I searched through my flawless vampire memory- looking for one moment when the actual words were said by either of us- I came up empty. "I love you, Edward," she spoke in her sweet, soft voice. And with that, I knew she needed me just as much as I needed her. _

I was pulled out of my reminiscence of last night by my miracle's voice.

"Never, I promise." She gave me a sweet kiss, pulling away only to let me continue.

"I also realized that I could never live without you. When you held me yesterday and told me everything was going to be okay, I saw how much I truly needed you. Not that I ever doubted that need before, I just never realized the intensity of it. So all of last night I was just thinking, and I noticed that now every time I think of you being like me, I can't help but smile."

"So, you're answer is yes?" The hopeful happiness in her voice was unmistakable.

"Yes, my Bella. I will change you. But can you at least give me a month or two, just so I can prepare myself properly?"

"Of course, sweetie pie, whatever you need." She then gave me another kiss, and then another. Before I knew it, she was placing sweet kisses all over my face and neck. If I were human, she probably would have given me bruises.

When she was done, at least for now, she began speaking once more.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Bella had finished all of her classes earlier than her classmates, due to the fact that she didn't even really need schooling because she was so incredibly intelligent. She even got her diploma already, and was given the option of either taking it then, or showing up for graduation. Bella being Bella, of course, chose to take it and run- as any accident prone person who hated attention would. This left us with endless amounts of time together, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

"Actually, Bella, I have to go to my house and unpack all of my things." When I left her and when I left Forks, I moved to my old house in Chicago where I spent my life as a human. I moved every single thing I had, although I never unpacked any of it- I was too busy grieving.

"Oh, okay. Well, do you need any help?" I could tell she was apprehensive about seeing my family, and I knew that I could actually get it done within a matter of minutes, but I wanted to spend every second I could with her.

"Sure, Bella. Only if you absolutely want to though," I said, giving her the chance to back out of anything she didn't want to do.

"Of course I do, silly." She ruffled my hair with this statement, and in return I pinned her to the bed and began what I knew was going to be a very long ticklefest. All the while, she kept batting my arms away- well, she tried to. When all tickles ceased and with a huge breathtaking smile on her face, she looked deep into my eyes and said those three little words that meant the world, "I love you."

"I love you too, Bella. So much." I leaned in to give her a kiss, and she returned it eagerly.

**BPOV**

I was nervous. Oh, boy was I nervous. Nervous could actually be considered an understatement, a mere pit stop on the highway to the level of anxiety I felt now. I was in the bathroom on the second floor now, the one down the hall from my bedroom. I was staring in the vanity, giving myself a pep talk. "Everything will be fine. They're back. They're all back. Don't worry, they love you." Well, they minus one- or minus two, I wasn't sure how Jasper felt towards me. When I was done with my shower and finished my makeup, I went to my walk-in closet next to the bathroom. _Hmmm…what do I wear to my vampire boyfriend's house to reunite with his family for the first time after said boyfriend's brother almost killed me? _I'd love to ask Stacy and Clinton that. After pondering this for quite a while and several knocks on the door from Edward asking If I was okay, I finally settled on an outfit that I'm pretty sure would make Alice proud. It was a pair of dark wash, slightly faded jeans, a light purple tank top with a cream -colored ,cropped short- sleeve top over it, and finally a pair of black peep toe pumps with purple lining. But hey, if there is one thing that Alice has made me remember, it is that an outfit is nothing without accessories. So, to top it off, I put in a pair of diamond stud earrings with a matching diamond necklace and complimented my wrist with the diamond tennis bracelet I got from my parents for my sixteenth birthday. My last essential accessory was one of my grandmother's rings: a white gold band with continuous diamonds embedded within it. Realizing I spent longer than necessary in my closet, I decided to just let my hair fall down in natural waves.

When I walked out of my closet after checking myself over twice, I was snatched up by a pair of strong arms and suddenly cold, smooth lips met mine. When he broke away to let me breathe, Edward looked me over, and his eyes widened.

"Bella, you look stunning, what's the occasion?"

"There is no occasion; this is just the way I dress now. Do you have a problem with it?" I almost laughed out loud at how quickly he shook his head no.

"Good, because neither do I." We made our way down the spiral staircase to the first floor and walked out the doors that led to the main parlor-which was still empty after all this time- and then out the front doors as well.

"You know, I still don't know what to do with that room. Nothing seems to feel right in it."

He turned me to face him and asked me what I had intended to do with it that didn't work.

"I don't know. I've tried everything from decorating it as an entertainment room to making it look like a museum with all of these old paintings. You know, the ones that everybody pretends to understand what their looking at, but the whole time they're just saying in their head 'I don't get it'", I explained. It was true, I had tried everything.

He laughed at this, and then led me outside to the driveway where my baby was; my baby- my silver G6 convertible. I loved it like my child; if anyone ever tried to hurt it, I would hunt them down and make them pay. I got in the driver's seat and offered to take him for a ride in it before we left for his house.

"Can I drive?" His begging tone was lost on me, however. No one drove my baby except for me; especially not vampires who thought one hundred and thirty miles per hour was slow.

"No can do, babe. Nobody drives this except for me." The pout he made almost forced me to give in, but I refused.

"You know, Bella, the way you talk about this car makes me think you love it more than you love me." I would have protested if he was serious, but his playful tone told me otherwise. So he had to settle for jumping into the passenger's seat. We drove through the outskirts of Forks, since that's technically where I lived. Then when he expected me to turn onto the highway to get to his house, I took a left turn instead.

"Bella, where are you going?" He was so cute when he sounded confused.

"To your house."

"This isn't how you get there."

"Edward, I thought you knew this state better than anyone, you know, being around it for so long."

"I do."

"Well, apparently not. If you did, then you would know that I was just taking a little backroads detour to your house."

"Why would you do that?"

"You know how you told me you like to go fast?"

"Yes…" Again, so cute.

"Well, I discovered I like to go fast as well." And with that, I urged the speedometer up to one hundred and twenty miles per hour. I know what I said before, and it's true; vampires like to go one hundred and _thirty _miles per hour.

"Bella! What the hell are you doing?! You've completely lost your mind!" He was screeching like a howler monkey, so I looked over and laughed-extremely hard- at the expression on his face. He was holding onto the seat for dear life, and the fearful expression on his face was priceless.

"What? It's not like anyone even knows about this road. _You_ didn't even know about it. Besides, you drive like this all the time."

"That's different, I have perfect reflexes; you, however, don't even have _average_ reflexes." The anxiety in his voice was hilarious to me. But I also could see the true concern in his eyes-at which point he screeched at me to keep my eyes on the road- so I decided to appease him a bit.

"Fine, is this okay?" I dropped the speed down to one hundred and five. He gave me a look-well, more like a glare- and said "No. Could you at least drop it below one-hundred?"

"Okay." I dropped the speed down to ninety-nine. He gave me another glare, but I ignored it.

Within twenty more minutes we arrived at his home. I wasn't even out of the car before I was swept up in a huge bear hug that I knew could only have one culprit: Emmett.

"Hey Bells! Nice wheels!" After he dropped me down on the ground, his questioning began.

"What is it, a Saturn Sky? Looks like an '08, maybe an '09?" He actually seemed genuinely interested in it. Nobody had seen it before since I purchased it after …the incident.

The next two people to pull me into a hug were Carlisle and Esme.

"Bella, we are so happy to see you, dear," Esme's motherly voice sounded as if she had just found her long-lost daughter.

"Yes, Bella. We can't tell you how much so. Our family hasn't been the same since…", Carlisle's voice trailed off and I was grateful for his consideration.

I started a very lovely conversation with Esme and Carlisle, while Edward and Emmett continued to gawk over my car. Even though Edward has been here for the past eight days, I could tell they had really missed each other when they were gone, and if anything their bond seemed stronger now. I was in the middle of my conversation when I heard that little voice that sounded like the tinkling of bells, "Bella!"

Alice ran-more like sprinted- up to me and wrapped her tiny arms around me with so much strength that my air supply was starting to get cut off.

"Alice….need…breath." She loosened her arms immediately, but still did not let go.

"Sorry, Bella. I just missed you so much!"

"I know, I missed you too, Alice."

"Oh my god, Bella!"

"What, Alice? What's wrong?" At first I thought she had a vision, but I guess I should have known better.

"Your outfit, Bella! It's fabulous! What happened to you?"

I decided to just tell her the truth. What was the harm?

"Well, Alice. I just figured it was the only way I could be close to you when you guys left, you know? I just missed you so much. And since I turned eighteen, my inheritance money was finally given to _me. _So I can afford everything I wear now. So, every morning when I woke up and had to get dressed, I would look in my closet and say 'what would Alice force me into'. Then when you came back I realized I loved dressing like this. It makes me feel a tad better about being seen with all of you next to me." I lightly laughed this last statement off, but secretly I knew it was part of my reasoning.

Alice just hugged me once more while giving me look that seemed to say "I'm here now." Jasper and Rosalie were nowhere to be seen, and I soon found out that they had gone hunting. Odd, I never really thought of them as the bonding type. So we all went inside after the reunion and while everyone went about doing whatever they were doing before we came here and Edward went up to change his clothes(since it had been over twenty-four hours and he still smelled like a waterfall), I went out to his car and grabbed one of the boxes that lounged in the backseat. I took the one labeled books and made my way up into the house and up to his room. I was on the third set of stairs when Edward appeared at the top. When I laid my eyes on him, they widened and I dropped the box on my foot.

_.Lord. _

Edward was in nothing but a pair of tight-in-all-the-right-places dark wash jeans, black boots, and-God help me- a white tank top that exposed every muscle that man contained in his chest and his biceps to the eye. His hair was the same mess of bronze locks it always was, but combined with this outfit, it just seemed absolutely perfect.

_Damn. It should be illegal to look that sexy._

"Bella? Bella?" it took me a minute to notice him standing right in front of me, waving his hand in front of my face.

"Huh?" This was my brilliant response.

"See something you like?" His cocky smirk was very prominent on his face and I just wanted to smack it off. _Or kiss it. Or lick it._

I picked up the box before heading up the stairs and saying, "you have no idea, babe."

He just laughed and when we got to his room, he pinned me down on his couch and whispered in my ear, "then why don't you do something about it?" I attacked his lips with mine then, and our make-out session kept up for what I'm sure was at least an hour. Then I broke away and asked him if he intended on unpacking anytime soon.

"Not with you here, you distract me too much. I'd much rather be doing this." He pressed his lips to mine, and suddenly I felt sad. I didn't want him to stay here. I wanted to spend every second of every day with him. So, I asked him something I thought I never would.

"Edward, I want to ask you something, but don't be afraid of hurting my feelings, I'll understand if you say no." He gave me a doubtful look and let me continue.

"What if…what if you don't unpack your stuff here?"

"I wasn't planning on it anytime soon anyway. Not while we could be doing what we were doing a minute ago." He gave me that crooked smile I loved and I almost forgot what I was going to ask. Almost.

"What I mean is, Edward…what if you didn't unpack your stuff here, but unpacked it at my place instead?"

His eyes widened as he began to understand what I was saying so I began to backtrack.

"But not if you don't want to, of course. I mean I understand how your family's here and you could get bored-" He cut me off by putting a finger to my lips.

"Bella, I would love to move in with you." Then we resumed our loving kisses until nightfall. I slept on Edward's couch that night, in his arms, falling asleep to my sweet lullaby.

**EPOV**

The next day, all of my things were packed in Bella's car, ready to take to my new home. We had gathered the family to tell them the news, and they were glad for the most part. We were now heading towards Bella's house and I couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of love I felt for this woman. We pulled into her driveway, and when I got out she told me to stay outside. When she came back after ten minutes, she told me to keep my eyes closed. Eagerly-albeit confusedly- I complied, and she led me into the main doors. She placed a gentle kiss on my lips, and then said in the softest voice-although it held a hint of excitement-, "Open your eyes."

What I saw took my breath away. She had decorated the main parlor to be my very own, private room. Not a bedroom, just a room for me to enjoy. And sitting right there in front of me was the most beautiful, antique piano I had ever seen.

"Bella…" Since I couldn't cry tears of happiness to show her how I felt, I just gave her the most loving, passionate kiss accompanied by the strongest hug I could give her without injuring her tiny, fragile frame.

"Welcome home, Edward."

I sat down at my new antique piano, in my new home- _our_ home- Bella right by my side, and started to play a song I had composed just two nights ago while she slept- the night of my confession.

"_You touch these tired eyes of mine  
And map my face out line by line  
And somehow growing old feels fine  
_

_I listen close for I'm not smart  
You wrap your thoughts in works of art  
And they're hanging on the walls of my heart_

_I may not have the softest touch  
I may not say the words as such  
And though I may not look like much  
I'm yours  
And though my edges may be rough  
And never feel I'm quite enough  
It may not seem like very much  
But I'm yours_

_You heeled these scars over time  
Embraced my soul  
You loved my mind  
You're the only angel in my life  
_

_The day news came my best friend died  
My knees went week and you saw me cry  
Say I'm still the soldier in your eyes_

_I may not have the softest touch  
I may not say the words as such  
And though I may not look like much  
I'm yours  
And though my edges may be rough  
And never feel I'm quite enough  
It may not seem like very much  
But I'm yours_

_I may not have the softest touch  
I may not say the words as such  
I know I don't fit in that much  
But I'm yours"_

And at those last three words, I cried. But this time it was different, for these were unshed tears of joy.

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_A/N: Ok I am going to update this chapter soon. It's just very late and I think I left out some important stuff but I just don't have the time to go over it right now. Sorry for any typos. Remember: Reviews make the world go round!!!_


	7. Chapter 7: Who wants a tour!

**A/N: Ok, there seems to be some confusion about this story. ~MOST OF YOUR QUESTIONS ARE EXPLAINED IN THE BEGINNING AUTHOR'S NOTE IN CHAPTER 1~ Bella has only received her inheritance when she was 18 because that is how most legal systems do it. Otherwise, you are considered a minor. However, she was allowed to live on her grandmother's estate by herself in Forks because of emancipation. She has been living there since she was 16, not 17. So that is a minor change from Twilight. She is obviously 18 now, because of the whole Edward leaving because of her 18****th**** birthday party and then came back. **

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EPOV

Surreal. That is the only way I know how to describe how I felt right now. In this moment, looking down upon a sleeping Bella in my arms, I truly felt I had found my meaning. It was to love and be loved by this beautiful creation. She has been everything, has shared every emotion, and now I was _living_ with her. This house was hers- but this _home _was ours. I couldn't believe it.

She started to turn over in her sleep so now her back was on my chest, and the sun was streaming in through her window at such an angle that it must have woken my sweet angel up. She rolled over slightly again, so now she was on her side still on top of me. After five minutes of trying to fall back asleep, she opened her left eye and groaned. I couldn't help but chuckle at this.

"Hey, roomie. Sleep well?"

She smiled and let out a small chuckle at my words.

"I did, thank you very much. Did I say anything amusing?"

"Not really amusing, just…interesting." Her face blushed the most beautiful shade of scarlet, and her eyes widened. Apparently she didn't detect the teasing tone in my voice.

"Relax, Bella. I was just joking around. All you said was that you love me, and believe me when I say _that _is nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Oh, that's all?"

"Yep."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

She gave me a sweet kiss on the cheek before heading off to the bathroom for some human time. About thirty minutes later I heard the water shut off, and another thirty minutes went by before she walked into the room again. She was absolutely gorgeous. She was dressed exactly like how she used to. She was wearing a pink tank top, dark wash jeans, a purple hoodie, and a pair of black flip flops. Don't get me wrong, I loved how she dressed now. Maybe I loved it a little _too_ much. But seeing her like this reminded me that she still was _my_ Bella. Her hair was in loose, natural waves down her back and over her shoulders.

"Hello, beautiful."

"Hello, handsome."

I walked up to her and grabbed her by the waist, then swung her over my shoulder and sprinted downstairs to the kitchen. "Edward, put me down!" she kept screaming on my way down the stairs, but her uproarious laughter made the demand less effective.

"Do you want to be put down?" I asked, more than reluctant to do so.

"Yes, please. Although, I am enjoying the view." We both giggled at this as I placed her on the white marble floor.

"Okay, well, could you avert your eyes long enough to have some breakfast?"

"Edward, I'm not even hungry right now."

"You're a human. How can you not be hungry?" I raised an eyebrow at her and she just gave me a look that said 'isn't it obvious'.

"Hmmm…maybe because your mother made me a ten course meal last night and you wouldn't let me stop until at least half of it was gone?" Oh, right, I forgot about that.

"Okay, fine. I'll let it slide just this once, but you'll have to double up on lunch."

She just rolled her eyes at me so I decided to change the subject.

"So, any plans for today?"

"Actually, I was thinking last night about how you have only ever seen three rooms in this house. And trust me, there are a lot more than that. So, what do you say I take you on a little tour?" I thought about that, and realized that she was right. I really only ever saw three rooms on this entire property. It stretched out for acres upon acres upon acres, and I never even saw the inside of the pool house or even the inside of the pool that was attached to the house itself.

"That sounds perfect. I guess it would be a good thing to know where stuff is in my new home, huh?"

Her eyes lit up as soon as the words were out of my mouth and the tour was about to start when there was a knock on the door. She insisted on opening it, so when she finally did, I heard Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper greeting her.

**BPOV**

"Hey guys," I said in a very cheerful voice. I really was excited to see them.

Edward decided to come over and see what they were up to.

"What's up guys?"

"Hey, Eddie. Nothing much, the girls went out hunting so we thought we would come on over and see what you two lovebirds were up to. We're not interrupting anything, are we?" You gotta love Emmett-always so straight to the point.

"Nope. Actually, Bella was just going to give me a tour of the house." Edward put his arm around my shoulders as if indicating who I was. He sounded slightly apprehensive to invite them into our new home, so I took it upon myself.

"Yeah, do you want to join us? I'm sure Edward wouldn't mind. Right, Edward?" I gave him a look that said 'you better be nice' and he nodded his head yes.

"We'd love to!" I was surprised to hear Carlisle's voice sound so excited. It wasn't far from that of a little boy in a candy store. They all rushed through the door. All but Jasper, that is. He was standing a couple feet from the doorway, looking slightly sad and- embarrassed? Then he started to walk away. Edward was showing off his "piano room" to Carlisle and Emmett, so I decided to ask him what was wrong.

"Hey, Jazz, wait up." He stopped and turned around with a surprised expression on his face.

Once I caught up to him, he seemed confused.

"What's wrong, you look like you want to hide behind the tree over there."

"Bella, ummm…no offense, but why are you talking to me?" His slightly southern accented voice had a hint of confusion within it.

"Why wouldn't I talk- _oh_." Now I understood. Jasper still felt like I was angry at him for my last birthday. He thought I hated him and blamed him for Edward leaving.

"Jasper, you don't really think that, do you? You don't think I'm mad at you for what happened, right?"

"Aren't you?"

"No, not at all. I can't believe you would think that. If anything, I want to apologize for making you feel that way. I mean, Jazz, I know we don't really talk to each other that much, but you have to know that I love you just as much as I love Em and Alice. I mean, you're all like brothers and sisters to me. And, can I tell you a secret before Emmett hears this?"

"Sure."

"You're my favorite. You're the only one I feel like I can talk to without either being glared at, tackled, or forced into a shopping spree by."

The smile that lit up his face was one I had never seen on Jasper before, and suddenly I was brought into a big hug by him.

"Thank you, Bella. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"No problem."

"And can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"You're my favorite human."

"Thanks, Jazz."

"Anytime."

"So, do you want to come on in or stand out here in the driveway?"

"Would you mind if I tagged along? Because between you and me, I have been dying to see the inside of your house. It's so beautiful on the outside; I can't wait to see its inner beauty."

"Come on in." We walked into the house, where Emmett and Edward were in a heated argument and Carlisle was watching amusedly.

"Okay, well, before you two end up breaking something in here-at which point you will both receive a massive scolding- what would you like to see first?" Carlisle and Jasper gave this a chuckle while Edward and Emmett looked at me apologetically.

"How about we start from the main floor and work our way up?" This was Emmett's idea, and, surprisingly, it wasn't a bad one.

"Sounds good. I see that Edward has already shown you his room here."

"Yes, and I must say Bella, you've done a fabulous job decorating this place."

"Thanks, Carlisle. So next would be the kitchen, I guess."

I showed them the whole first floor. I showed them the kitchen, the other main entertainment room, and even the bathroom. Next up was the pool that took up half of the main floor.

"That's all on this floor that qualifies as an actual room. Follow me and I'll show you the pool."

"You have a pool?" All four of them questioned at once.

"Yep. Two, actually. The other one is separated though." I brought them through the double doors and then through the glass doors that led to the pool area.

This was my favorite part of this floor, I must say. It was gorgeous and very calming. A giant mural was painted on the ceiling and a beautiful waterfall like structure stood at the end of the pool, which had a magnificent marble design on the bottom. Surrounding it were several white, long, comfy lounge chairs.

"Whoa, Bells. How the hell did you get this?" Emmett sounded as if I was keeping a buried treasure in here.

"I have my ways."

"How is it that I never knew about this?" Edward's questioning voice was induced with wonder.

"I don't know. Slipped my mind I guess. Want to move on or do you want to take a swim?" I was joking about the swim part, but apparently Emmett thought I was serious, because Edward was soon yelling "No, Emmett!", which thankfully stopped him before he was about to make a huge jump in my pool.

"Dude, come on, she said-"

"She was kidding, Em. Now let's go upstairs before you break her house by doing a cannonball." Edward laughed with his brother at this last statement, and soon we all joined in. I showed them all the next two floors and Edward chose the room I knew he would to be his. When I showed them my office, they all seemed very surprised that I worked at all. "But, why?" was the common question among them. I explained that I didn't just want to _not_ do anything with my life, so that's why I created _Lyra_, my own fashion design company.

"Don't tell Alice about that, she'll try to buy it from you and make it her own." Jasper laughed at his statement and I did too, although he probably wasn't wrong.

"There is still downstairs to go to."

"There's a downstairs?" it was amazing how little Edward knew about this place.

"Yeah, it's just a basement but I tried to make it into a halfway decent game room."

"Let's go." And with that, Edward ran me through the house looking for stairs leading to the lowest floor, but when none were found, he gave me a baffled look; it matched his family's expression perfectly.

"You know the hallway between the doors that led to the pool? The stairs are at the end of that hallway." We were soon downstairs and in the sad little game room that had a pool table, a foosball table, and a couple chairs here and there. There was also a portion of it dedicated to chess. Now that I was looking at it, the huge bookcase on the wall that was completely filled made it feel like more of a study. The room was technically under the foundation of the house, but light still shone in because it wasn't actually underground.

It was hilarious to see the disappointed expressions on Jasper, Edward, and especially Emmett's faces. Carlisle, however, seemed pleased to see that his favorite game was a part of this room. No, not chess: billiards. He was an excellent player. As he studied the pool table carefully, the others looked extremely disappointed- and bored out of their minds.

"Don't worry guys. I have a surprise for you. This is the game room for grown-ups." Carlisle laughed at my patronizing tone.

"I decided that this was a good room for adults, but since you all tend to have the mindset of a twelve-year old boy when it comes to games, I made another. Go through the door over there and you'll find it." They all darted inside, and when they saw it, I could've sworn I heard them sniffle as if trying not to cry.

"Awww, Bella, you're AWESOME! You are the best sister EVER!" Emmett sounded like a little kid that just got ten bucks from his big sister. However juvenile the statement sounded, his tone was full of mature sincerity.

This room was a little less mature. It contained multiple pinball machines, more pool tables with overhead lamps, car racing games, dance games, and various others that you would find in any arcade across America. While they were all in there, Jasper and Edward playing air hockey and Emmett taking a shot at skeeball, I decided to stay in the room with Carlisle- where it was nice and quiet. Knowing it would be a while for them to finish up and not wanting to get a headache from the excessive amount of noise, I shut the door and sat down.

"Thank you Carlisle."

He looked up from where he was studying the antique carvings in the wood of the table, and with a surprised expression asked, "For what, Bella?"

"For accepting me."

"Why wouldn't we Bella? You were so accepting yourself, it would be an impossible task not to."

He walked over to me and sat down next to me. We silently started playing chess, and then he spoke about two minutes later.

"You know, Bella, I should be thanking you for that. I mean, you accepted us so easily. You didn't run or ever demean us in any way. You accepted our life even though you may not have understood it. I can't even begin to express my gratitude for your compassion towards me and my family. I have to admit, and I am even ashamed to say that when Edward told me he was in love with a human, I thought he was crazy. I lied to him and told him that I was okay with it, but I wasn't. I knew that he could hurt you, and that humans don't have the same perceptions of love that we do. I more or less thought you were just a girl, and I am deeply sorry for that. Because when Edward brought you home to us, and I saw you looking at him and him at you, I couldn't believe the amount of love that was there. You were just projecting love from every pore. Jasper even took me aside and told me what he felt from you two. When he explained that he had never felt feelings so strong from a single human being before, I was in shock, but it was a happy shock. From the moment I turned Edward, all I wanted was for him to be happy. After the first ten years, I started to get worried that he hadn't found anyone. I even started forcing him to be more social in the vampire community, and I think that was the reason for his rebellious stage. Then after Esme was turned, she wanted him to do the same thing as I had- find someone that he wanted that was dying and change them. He wouldn't hear any of it, of course. He said he was complete and content with being a loner. He has always been the brooding type, as you must know from that first day." I laughed at this as he gave me a knowing smile, but I was too involved in his story to interrupt with words, so I let him continue. "I thought that was just his personality. When he came home from the day he first saw you, he came home and called me into his room. He started saying that he didn't know how to tell me and he couldn't explain it himself-that it was just an impulse. I thought he was going to say that he had killed someone. But then a smile that would make even the sun go blind lit up his face and he said 'Carlisle, I'm in love.' From then on, he couldn't stop smiling. It was like he was a new person. He was happy all the time and always gave off this elated energy. And now, after all you have been through, you still accepted him. For that I thank you, Bella. Thank you for giving me the son I always wanted. And most importantly, thank you for giving me a new daughter that I can be proud of."

I couldn't help it- I had to fight the tears in my eyes and I hugged him with as much strength as I could muster.

"Thank you, Carlisle. Thank you for giving me a family," I whispered into his ear.

"What do you mean, Bella? You had a family in Phoenix, didn't you?"

We were both standing now, I was leaning against the wall and Carlisle was doing the same next to me.

"Well, it's just that my parents never really acted like parents. That's why I moved here. They never were okay with what I wanted to do with my life. Now they're ashamed of me and I know that. They treated me like I was a client and they were trying to negotiate a business deal. I was never their child, I was always their trophy. I was just something they showed off to their friends and then forgot about. They always bought me stuff, thinking it would be enough to keep me around. All they wanted was my inheritance, and I knew that. They always said, 'we'll buy you this and then you can give us what grandma gave you'. They thought I was young and stupid enough to trade the one thing my grandmother left me as a symbol of her love for me. She always called me her favorite grandchild. She said my cousins were all superficial but that I didn't let being rich get to me and that I still had my morals, and that's why she was going to make me rich when I got older. So to stay true to that, I give two hundred grand to charity every year. That way, I don't feel like I'm betraying her with all of this." I waved my hand around the room to emphasize my point.

"I don't know, I guess I just want to let you know that it means a lot to me that you would call me your daughter. Let alone be one you're proud of."

He gave me a sympathetic smile and brought me into a hug as I opened up to him. I had never told anyone that story before.

"You're welcome, Bella. If you ever need anything at all, just let me know."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now what do you say to a nice ol' game of pool?"

I smiled and took a pool stick out of the holder and he did the same.

"Do you know how to play?" He asked this as if anticipating negative answer. If only he knew what he'd gotten himself into.

"Yep. Been playing since I was five." His face dropped into shock and his eyes widened.

"How could you play when you were so young?"

"I watched my dad play it all the time. I didn't actually start playing until I was seven when I was tall enough. So that gave me enough time to work on strategy."

We started playing and I was actually winning by a little.

"So, Bella, what have you been doing all this time up here in Forks. I know you didn't have to attend senior year since you got your diploma already, so you must have had a lot of time on your hands."

Carlisle's sudden question was spot on. I knew he meant after they left and when they did, I had so much time I didn't know what to do with myself.

"Well, first I decided to decorate this place. That only took about a month to get the whole house done though. It only took a week to draw up the plans, so I had three weeks to do something that I couldn't be in the house for. So I decided to finish up getting my PHD in medicine. I had been working on it since I was fourteen, some kind of young doctor scholarship program. So, technically, now I'm a doctor. If you ever need any help at the hospital, you know where to find me."

His eyes lit up and a bright smile took up his face at this. Then something else crossed his features and he asked, "Why did you decide to go then and not finish immediately?"

"Well, when you guys left, I wanted to stay close to you. I didn't want to forget you. So I took up all of your favorite hobbies. To keep close to you, I got my PHD. The interior design was for Esme. I took up gaming, as you can see, for Emmett. I think I've mastered every single game in that room. I started my company for Alice, although I have always been interested in fashion illustration. I read up on the Civil War for Jasper. I even know how to be a pretty decent mechanic for Rosalie." Yes, I kept myself busy. If I didn't

"Wow, you did all of that for us? It seems like a pretty busy schedule," he sounded as if he had just realized how very much they mean to me.

"Yes. Like I said, I didn't want to forget. I also found that if I had something to keep my mind occupied, it didn't hurt so much. But then when I would finish a task, the pain would come back multiplied by ten."

"What about for Edward?"

I let out a sigh. I didn't know if I could say this without turning into a sobbing mess. I guess I would at least have to try.

"For Edward…," my voice cracked already, "for Edward, I…I learned to play the piano. Once I was really good, I mean _really_ good, I started to play the song he wrote for me. If I ever missed even one note, I would start completely over from the beginning. Sometimes I would just play it for hours, thinking about him. I kept asking myself why someone would leave after composing such an intimate song for another person. It just conveyed so much love in every note; I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that he was actually gone. Soon, I found myself playing my lullaby every night before I went to sleep. I pretended he was the one playing it. But then when I stopped, I would cry. And every time I played, the tears would come faster, until I started crying through the entire song." I looked up to see if Carlisle was still there since I hadn't heard one sound come from him. But there was anger in his eyes, which were staring behind me. I turned around, and standing there in front of the door was a very heartrendingly anguished and very shameful-looking Edward.

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****** Sorry for typos, I'll edit it later on when my eyes are fresh. **


	8. Chapter 8: A Kick In The Rear

**A/N: Hey guys! I know it took me longer than usual to update, but I didn't get very many reviews for last chapter… so I got MAJOR writer's block. I told you, REVIEWS MAKE ME WRITE FASTER!!!!!! **

**Chapter 8 is dedicated to _fallenangel12683_ for helping me with Twilighted and just being an awesome reviewer! **

**In this chapter, Carlisle may seem a little out of character, but understand he is just very upset with his son for what he did. One more thing- REVIEW!!!!!!!!!! It's just one little button on the bottom of the page- go, ahead, press it…YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!! Ok on to chapter 8 before this gets creepy. **

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EPOV

_Edward, listen to this._ The ferocity of Carlisle's thoughts surprised me enough to immediately comply without a second thought. I ordered Emmett and Jasper to stop with their games so that I would be able to hear nothing but Bella's sweet, angelic voice. _What's up man?_ _What's wrong?_ Their thoughts were slightly irritated, but concerned nonetheless.

"**Well, first I decided to decorate this place. That only took about a month to get the whole house done though. It only took a week to draw up the plans, so I had three weeks to do something that I couldn't be in the house for. So I decided to finish up getting my PHD in medicine. I had been working on it since I was fourteen, some kind of young doctor scholarship program. So, technically, now I'm a doctor. If you ever need any help at the hospital, you know where to find me." **Huh, she never told me that before. I don't know why Carlisle seemed to be angry with me. If anything, he should be happy that Bella took on his favorite pastime.

"**Why did you decide to go then and not finish immediately?"**

"**Well, when you guys left, I wanted to stay close to you. I didn't want to forget you. So I took up all of your favorite hobbies. To keep close to you, I got my PHD. The interior design was for Esme. I took up gaming, as you can see, for Emmett. I think I've mastered every single game in that room." **Emmett and Jasper were intently listening now as well, and even though Emmett's thoughts were extremely sad- and angry- he couldn't help the slight smile that ghosted across his face as he realized how much Bella cared for him, and the rest of the family for that matter.** "I started my company for Alice, although I have always been interested in fashion illustration. I read up on the Civil War for Jasper. I even know how to be a pretty decent mechanic for Rosalie." **I was just stunned into silence. Words couldn't form in my brain right now; I was too concerned with the tone of Bella's voice. It was a tone I knew all too well- and I wish I didn't know it at all. She used it whenever she wanted to seem like she was strong and unaffected by whatever she was saying- but it still held the poignant sadness beneath the surface, letting me know she was going to fall apart any minute.

"**Wow, you did all of that for us? It seems like a pretty busy schedule." **Carlisle's voice may have seemed calm to the common bystander, but I had been with him long enough to hear the resentment there- resentment towards me, of course.

"**Yes. Like I said, I didn't want to forget. I also found that if I had something to keep my mind occupied, it didn't hurt so much. But then when I would finish a task, the pain would come back multiplied by ten." **_Did you hear that, Edward?_ I just nodded at the door in response to Carlisle's question- which came towards me in a growl. I heard his next line of questioning in his mindand for once, I wished that Carlisle was the mind reader._ Oh, no. Please, Carlisle, don't ask her. It will kill me if you do. Please, Carlisle! No, no! _But the screaming in my head was useless.

"**What about for Edward?" **I didn't want to hear this; I couldn't bear to hear this.

"**For Edward…," her voice broke on the last syllable of my name, "for Edward, I…I learned to play the piano. Once I was really good, I mean **_**really**_** good, I started to play the song he wrote for me. If I ever missed even one note, I would start completely over from the beginning. Sometimes I would just play it for hours, thinking about him. I kept asking myself why someone would leave after composing such an intimate song for another person. It just conveyed so much love in every note; I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that he was actually gone. Soon, I found myself playing my lullaby every night before I went to sleep. I pretended he was the one playing it. But then when I stopped, I would cry. And every time I played, the tears would come faster, until I started crying through the entire song." **This was the last piece that made me collapse inside. I couldn't move, I couldn't think of anything besides the words that Bella had spoken. Emmett and Jasper's thoughts were livid- and full of threats. Emmett's were much more detailed: _Edward, you jackass, go out there! Go out there and make her better now, before I throw you through the wall and rip you to shreds!_ Jasper's thoughts were only one word, but that didn't make it hurt any less: _Asshole._

As if their mental beating wasn't doing enough justice- which no amount of abuse ever would to a monster like me- Carlisle's thoughts were a menacingly quiet scolding.

_Are you happy now, Edward? Look at what you did to this poor girl- no, this poor woman! She loves you, she lives for you, and you still doubted that? Even I can see that nothing means more to her than you. Come out here, Edward- RIGHT NOW young man! Come and see the pain in Bella's eyes and look at what you've done!_

When I slowly walked out the door, Bella still had her back turned and was looking down at the pool table. Carlisle, on the other hand, was giving me the death glare- and if his burning irises could shoot fire, I'm sure I'd be blazing from head to toe.

Suddenly, Bella looked up into Carlisle's face, and the intensity of his glare must have tipped her off to my presence, for she pivoted around quickly to meet my sorrowful eyes.

"Oh, Edward…I didn't know…I didn't mean to say that out loud…I," but I couldn't look into her heartbroken eyes- a heartbreak which I had been the cause of- so I ran outside and looked for the nearest shelter, although I probably deserved to be stuck in the rain.

**BPOV**

"Shit." The word accidentally slipped out of my mouth and I remembered that Carlisle was still presently in the room, so I immediately started apologizing, but I was too pissed at myself to blush for my action. How could I have been stupid enough to think that I could speak my confession with Edward in the next room? Of course he was listening, he was always listening.

"Do not apologize, Bella. If I were you, I probably would have started with the profanities a long time ago." I knew he was trying to lighten the atmosphere, but the attempt was lost on me.

Jasper and Emmett walked in then, both glancing at Carlisle and then at me, as if silently asking him what they should do.

"It's ok, guys. This is between me and Edward; you don't need to feel like you have to do something."

Emmett was the first to protest this," Are you ok, Bells? Do you want me to beat him up for you? I really feel like kicking his ass right now."

Jasper agreed with this statement, which was surprising," Yeah, Bella. We will gladly give him a good kick in the rear for you. Hell, I know I will probably do it anyway."

"No, guys, that's really alright. This is my fault, I shouldn't have-"

"Bella!" all three of them said disapprovingly at once. "Bella, you are not responsible for Edward's dumbass way of handling things. You have to know that he's just confused and he doesn't like to show confusion; that is the only reason he isn't here right now. He is trying to figure out how he can make this right, you know? He wants to make it up to you- he wants to show you he loves you. He ran away because he didn't know what to do. That's the way Edward is, he just doesn't know any better." Emmett's explanation floored me. I didn't know how to say what I wanted, so I just thanked him and brought all three of them into an embrace.

"You know, you guys, I never have really told any of you this, but I really appreciate all of you being here. I know it must not be the most satisfying thing to have to be around a seemingly useless human that slows you down." I tried to laugh this off; all the while knowing it was the sad truth.

"Bella, you know we don't think that. And if you keep saying that about yourself, you might just get an ass kicking yourself when you're a vampire." Emmett's comment shocked me out of the mood I had been put in and I realized I hadn't really talked to them about that.

"Oh, I didn't realize you guys knew about that. Umm, I wanted to talk to you about it, actually. Do you guys, well…God, how can I say this…umm, well-"

"Just spit it out, Bella." I had to laugh at their impatience; it was just so… human.

"Well-now don't take this the wrong way- but, would you guys…mind…me becoming a vampire? I mean you're all so close to each other- I don't want to impose on your family." I looked into each of their eyes when I confessed my secret fear, trying to decipher the emotions that were shown there.

Carlisle spoke first," Bella, nothing would make us happier than for you to join us. Even Rosalie is excited about it. Esme is so completely in love with you that she was ready for you to be changed the first day we met you. Alice, of course, couldn't be more thrilled. And these two over here haven't shut up about it since the day Edward told them he loved you." He gave a head nod in the direction of Emmett and Jasper, who shot me guilty looks.

When Carlisle finished, Jasper spoke his own feelings on the matter, "It's true. This might sound selfish-and I'm sorry if it offends you- but it will be so much easier for you to be a vampire. I'll be able to actually, you know, talk to you without feeling bad about wanting to kill you. Plus, we'll get to know each other better." He gave me a genuine smile at the end of this, and it was sincerely returned.

"Has Edward been saying anything?" They all shared a knowing look at my question, and Emmett was the one to share his knowledge on the subject.

"Of course, Bells. You don't know how long Edward has waited for something like this to finally happen. He can't stop smiling- and I wouldn't mind, but it's that creepy deranged ax-murderer smile. If he is this happy with you as a human, I can't imagine how ecstatic he'll be when you're a vampire. I mean you guys will be able to do _anything_ together and for however long you want. And I mean _anything,_" he gave me a wink to emphasize his point- as if his 'subtle' words weren't obvious enough. In an effort to get out of this incredibly awkward situation and to hide the blush that was about to creep over my cheeks, I politely dismissed myself- or tried to, at least.

"Well, that's my cue to leave-"

"Come on, Bella. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. I feel the lust coming off of Edward every time he thinks of you and every time you're around him. And you too, for that matter-"

"OK, THAT'S ENOUGH!" I cut off Jasper's statement with an embarrassing screech. I was about to walk out the door to go look for Edward when they stopped me.

"You might want to leave him alone for a little while, Bella. He usually doesn't like to have company when he's brooding. He'll come around in a couple hours or so, though. I'm sorry- that was rude of me, and of Emmett to insinuate such a thing. I mean it's true, but it was still rude to embarrass you like that." Jasper's sincerity destroyed my resolve to leave, and when Emmett apologized too, I become conscious of the fact that they really did care about me.

"Ok, so what do you guys want to do? You can go back to playing games if you want, or I could show you the rest of the property."

"There's more? What else could this place possibly contain?" Jasper's voice was incredulous.

"Do you want me to tell you or would you rather see it for yourself?"

"We would love to see it." Carlisle spoke before Emmett got the chance to- he was probably going to ask if he could continue his gaming session. So, in order to appease him, I offered him unlimited time in there.

"Tell you what, Em? You guys can come back here anytime you want, OK? Whether it's day, night, sunny, rainy- whenever you want. How does that sound?" This was a sincere offer on my part- I really loved them like my own brothers.

"Really? Thanks Bells!" With that, Emmett took me into the biggest bear hug to date.

"So what else is there?" Jasper's voice was genuinely interested.

"If you follow me, I'll show you the movie room." Their faces dropped at this, probably in slight shock that I would have a game room _and_ a movie room.

Emmett praised me on the way through the two game rooms, saying-and I quote-"you really are, like, the coolest human ever".

When we entered the movie room, their faces dropped for the second time that day.

"This is your movie room?" Emmett asked in a tone that was both bored and incredibly irritated. We were in the movie room, staring at the little leather loveseat, the projection screen and the sad stereo system.

"Uh, huh." I loved having this teasing power over them- it was so rare an occasion when you could surprise a vampire.

"It's…charming," Carlisle always tried to make me feel better.

"Yep, this is the movie room. Now, do you want to see the movie _theater_?" The confusion on their faces was clouded with excitement and when I opened the door on the other side of the movie room, their faces lit up.

"Wow, Bella. This is amazing," Carlisle sounded sincere with his compliment. As Emmett and Jasper plopped down into the two oversized lounge chairs next to the control panel screen, Carlisle took me aside.

"Bella, thank you so much for giving them this. They really love you; I'd say they loved you as much as Edward but I know that isn't possible. When the girls left for their hunting trip, their first question was 'can we go see Bella'? You bring out the kids in them that I think they forgot they had. And I have to admit, you bring out the little kid in me too." We both chuckled at this, but it was broken by the deafening noise of the movie theater's sound system- good thing I made this room sound proof.

"JESUS, _CHRIST_!" I had never heard Carlisle curse before, and this brought on a whole new round of laughter from me.

"I'm sorry, Carlisle, you just should've seen your face!" I started laughing even more when he also plopped down into a seat and started watching the movie they had chosen, and yelled out "I _LOVE_ THIS MOVIE!" That was not something I had expected Carlisle to say about _The Hangover_. One of the construction guys that had worked on the house had a brother that had access to all the latest movies- some that hadn't even been in theaters yet and wouldn't be for a while. He wanted to thank me for all the business I gave his company, so since he knew I had a movie room, he offered to get me all the movies I wanted.

It wasn't long before I sat down next to Carlisle and we were all hysterically laughing at Alan's "lone wolf pack" speech. When the movie was over and I was through my second box of tissues from crying because I was laughing so hard, we decided to move on with the rest of the property. It was only about one o'clock, but it was dark as night and raining buckets outside. Emmett picked me up and all of us ran to the home gym that was in the back of the house. They examined each machine and noticed the plasma TV set up on the wall. After that, I took them to the pool house. Since there were rare sunny days in Forks, it didn't quite make sense to me to have a regular outdoor pool. So, instead I put in a pool _house _that had a skylight over the pool, which with the push of a button could be opened to reveal the sun's burning rays. It was also surrounded by glass windows, allowing me to see whichever weather Forks had been blessed with that day.

Even though we were enjoying ourselves, I was still upset and worried about Edward. I didn't want him to beat himself up over this.

"Hey, would you all mind if I went to find Edward? I don't want to him to berate himself any more than he already has. You guys are more than welcome to stay, though." They all gave me thoughtful looks, and with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, they were on their way.

"Thanks for having us, Bells. Good luck with Broody McBrooderson!" Emmett called this out when they were about to start running back to their home.

"No problem. And, hey, if you ever want to stay here and hang out, be my guest." I told them this with a smile on my face, and stood there in the rain, contemplating for what seemed like hours where my beloved vampire could be. Once I came to my conclusion, I headed off to find him, all the while preparing myself to face what I knew was going to be a very gloomy Edward.

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**A/N: Might update this chapter, might not. Depeends on how I view it in the morning. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know I seem desperate, but reviews are the only thing that writers get back. I don't know if I'm doing my job right if nobody tells me!!!!!! **

_**Also, if you skipped the A/N at the beginning, please go back and read it.** _

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	9. Chapter 9: Wanna go to Paris?

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to BlazingAngel818 for giving this story a much needed review and an AWESOME one at that! Bella's speech might seem a little repetitive but remember she only said this to Carlisle and Edward didn't hear the part about her parents. **_**All of the cars and other stuff mentioned have links on my profile. While you're there, check out my other stories, A Love Unspoken Leaves My Heart Broken and Bella's Favorite Tunes.**_** The former is rated M though, for language. I know, shameless plugging.** 

*****this probably doesn't need a warning but I am going to say that there is a smidget of sexuality in here. Not Breaking Dawn, people, just a little bit of an Eclipse kiss, kay? *****

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BPOV

I rushed into Edward's piano room, expecting to find him composing a new song while sulking. But when I stumbled over the step that led into it (which I always forgot was there), he was nowhere to be found. As I thought about another destination, I realized my clothes were completely soaked through from the rain. In response to this, I walked upstairs to my closet and picked out some dry clothes. Knowing it was actually pretty warm out despite the rain and deciding to go for comfort, I took out my favorite outfit in there (it was old from when I moved here, but was still the most comfortable thing in the world)—a pair of short denim shorts and a light blue, grey, and white plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves. The shirt was a bit too short and exposed a small patch of skin on my back—it would have exposed my stomach too, but I made sure to always pull it down in the front so that didn't happen—since I had grown a little since I first bought it, but I didn't mind. In an effort to remain dry, I put my dripping hair into a sloppy bun and took off my soaked flip flops.

I ran in my bare feet to Edward's room, determined to be successful with my second attempt. I listened through the door, trying to make out the smallest sound indicating his presence. Hearing nothing and deciding it was now or never, I opened his door very slowly—and was met with an empty room. Or at least I thought it was empty—until I heard a slight rustling sound. I entered the room fully, searching around for the cause of the noise. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the flow of a curtain, so I walked over to it and pushed it open. Behind it, on the balcony, was a curled up Edward—his chin on his knees and his arms wrapped around his torso, staring up out into the darkness of the storm.

"Hi," I whispered, making an effort to get him to look at me, or at the very least acknowledge I was here. But all I got in response was dead silence.

"Edward?"

Nothing.

"Edward, honey, are you OK?" I knew that was a stupid question even before I asked it.

Nothing.

"Stupid question, I know. Of course you're not okay." I sat down next to him, looking out into the day disguised as night, copying his actions. I was dying to reach out and run my fingers through his flawless mess of bronze hair to comfort him, but I knew he probably didn't want to be touched right now.

"You know, I used to love doing this. I did it all the time when I first moved here, before I met you. I was just so lost—I didn't know anyone here; I didn't have any idea where to even find this place on a map." I thought I saw his lip twitch at this out of the corner of my eye, but it was a vain hope.

"I was this sixteen year old freak that was well on her way to becoming a doctor, even though she didn't want to be. It was a fun hobby, but to have to tell people that someone they loved had passed wasn't exactly an appealing prospect for me. It caused a huge argument between me and my parents. They wanted every bit of control over me they could get, even though they didn't hold a care in the world if I was happy. That's why I came here, you know. When I finally gained enough courage to stand up to them, they tried everything from bribery to threatening to take away my inheritance, like they could. So when I left, it wasn't exactly on a good note. All I had was a little dinky car which could have belonged to a clown that I bought with saved up money. The only other thing I had to my name was a box of clothes and books—I refused to bring anything that my parents bought me that wasn't a birthday gift. Anyway, I was so confused with a whole jumble of emotions that I didn't know what to do with myself. So the first night I spent here, I was the loneliest I had ever been in my entire life. And only this room was actually decent, everything else was full of cobwebs and dusty sheets hiding things I was too afraid to uncover. So I came into this room on that first night, and after crying for a good couple hours, I came out here. I just stared into the night sky. Listening to the breeze and making patterns out of the stars. And the second I did, it was like the rain washed away every fear and insecurity I had. It was like my history had been shed and I could finally be my _own _person." I had never told anyone about that first night before, not even Edward—until now.

"I used to love the silence, you know? It was just so…peaceful. And since I know you are probably mentally telling me to shut up right now, that is exactly what I am going to do. Because I just realized that you probably came out here for the same reason and I have destroyed the silence with my incessant blabbering." I tried to see if I could at least get the faintest hint of a smile to ghost across his face, but was unsuccessful.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna go inside, so when you think you're ready to talk to me, let me know. Take as long as you want, whether it's hours, days, a year—I understand." I started to get up and was about to leave his room, but I just wanted one last look at him in case it actually was days before he wanted to talk. He still wasn't moving and I was starting to get worried that he had become catatonic, when he suddenly pulled me to him in a motion that was too quick for human eyes. I was now settled in his lap with his face pressed into my hair.

We were like that for a few minutes before his hoarse, but still velvet, whisper broke through the streaming of the rain.

"Bella, you know I love you, right?" His voice sounded as if he were trying to relay some hidden message that was forbidden to be spoken.

"Of course I do, sweetheart, as much as I love you, if that's even possible."

"I…I don't…uuggh…I'm just so sick of always making mistakes—especially when they hurt you. I never, ever want to hurt you, Bella. Never. And that's why I have been acting so insane lately, I guess. I'm afraid I will accidentally slip and make a decision that will hurt you, so I've been trying to be on my guard without letting you see that I was. And when you were saying those things to Carlisle, I broke and just couldn't deal with anything anymore and then I ran away when I really should have been there for you and then you come up here and spill your heart out to me trying to make me feel better even though I should be trying to make you feel better and groveling on the ground to let me stay with you and now…now I just don't know what to do." He was talking very quickly, so quickly it was almost impossible to catch clearly.

"About what?"

"About this. About _us_. I mean, we can't keep kidding ourselves about it, I'm different. Ha, that's an understatement, huh? I'm lethal. I could kill you right now if I hadn't gone hunting earlier." He turned to me, his face begging me to understand what he was saying, but it only made me more confused.

"Why are you giving me a speech that very much resembles the one you gave when you tried to keep me away from you?"

"Because maybe that's what I'm trying to do. Maybe I'm trying to explain how much I want us to keep going, but—" Tell me he was not saying these words.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen! Are you trying to leave again? Because don't think that this time I will go down without so much as a fight—"

"Bella, no! I'm not leaving. I'm not, I promise! I won't ever leave again. I don't know where that came from, I'm sorry. I guess that even after all this time there is still a part of me that is trying to talk you out of your commitment. I don't know why. I'm just, going through some things right now that I knew I would sooner or later and I don't know what to make of it. I just don't know how to sort all of these feelings, you know? I'm still not used to them and they make me feel crazy." He gave me a slight smile, and I returned it with one of my own.

"Edward, you have to understand that even though this might not be the most ideal relationship," he shot me a look that said 'are you kidding' but I didn't let it stop my talking, "it's perfect for me. I don't care if you're a vampire, I don't care if you could kill me with the snap of a finger—Hell, I don't care if you start dressing up like Dracula and start laying in coffins—OK, I would mind it if you did that, but anyway…none of it matters because that's what makes you _my_ Edward, okay? When it comes to this, we are just two people in love. And can you promise me one thing?"

"Anything."

"Please, never let me go?" The desperation in my voice was slightly verging on pathetic, but when you love someone, there is no such thing. He held me tighter, and I couldn't deny the feeling of protection I felt from him. He immediately replied, and my heart swelled up to twice its size with his response.

"I don't want to let you go, I just want to keep you here forever and ever and ever."

"Then you can do just that. Trust me, I don't mind." I finally felt him smile on top of my head and I turned my head up so I could lean into him and kiss him with as much force as I could muster. Apparently, Mother Nature didn't agree with this perfect moment, because right when we were getting somewhere, my stomach let out a huge growl.

Edward chuckled before saying, "Time to feed the human, huh? That's what you get for not eating breakfast."

"Shut up." I playfully punched him in the shoulder and he took me off to the kitchen. We sat in silence for a little while when I was eating lunch. After twenty minutes, I couldn't help but notice that Edward was staring at me intently.

"Can I help you?" I asked in mock annoyance.

"Nope, just watching my beautiful girl put food into her beautiful mouth."

"What if said beautiful girl said she didn't want to be watched?"

"I would tell her that it didn't matter. I would tell her that I loved her too much to ever stop looking at her. I would also ask this beautiful girl if she forgave me for being such an ass to her." I had to let our little 'beautiful girl' game go at this—he couldn't go on thinking this was true. He never cursed, even this mildly, unless he was having some kind of heightened emotion- which I could only imagine would be guilt.

"Edward, you know you haven't been like that. I said something I should have kept to myself. And you heard it. I'm sorry for that. And if you even _think_ that you are going to apologize_ again_ for leaving, then you are truly mistaken. Was it the worst time in both of our lives? Yes. Did it hurt like hell? Yes. But, without that period of loss in our lives, we wouldn't be as strong as we are now. Our bond wouldn't be as profoundly meaningful as it is, and we wouldn't have realized the depth of our love for each other. At least, that's what I believe." I took his face in both of my hands and made him meet my gaze so I knew I was getting my message through to him. "So, I need you to believe the same thing and stop blaming yourself for making that decision. We're together now, and that's all that matters." I leaned over the countertop of the island in the middle of the kitchen and gave him a brief, sweet kiss on the lips to let him know everything was okay. He just gave me a look of bewilderment before it morphed into that crooked smile I loved so much.

"What?"

"Just when I thought you couldn't be any more amazing, you go ahead and say something like that. It just confirms my thoughts of how much your outer beauty reflects your inner beauty. You're so stunningly beautiful always, but especially in this moment." I couldn't help the loud "HA" that escaped my mouth. As I went to clean up my lunch, I couldn't fight the urge to call him out on this lie.

"Yeah, I bet I look absolutely gorgeous in this old beat-up thing, huh? Oh, and don't forget the mess on the back of my head."

"You do, actually. You are such a natural beauty, Bella. You don't need all those fancy things to make you 'pretty'. And—if I'm being completely honest—I think not only do you look strikingly gorgeous right now, but you look damn sexy too." Both of my eyebrows shot up to the top of my forehead and I gave him a disbelieving look as a blush quickly took over my features. He had never said that to me before; sure he called me beautiful, cute, and gorgeous—but never once did he call me _sexy_.

"Did you just call me…did you just tell me I was…what did you just say to me?" I couldn't believe his words, so it only made sense that I imagined him saying them.

"I said that you were sexy." His eyes held mischief and what was that other thing—was it lust?—in his golden depths.

"Why?" I gave him a look of confusion that basically said 'what exactly have you been smoking' and he just let out a small, smooth, velvet laugh while walking around the island and pulling me into his body. He leaned his head down while stroking my neck with one hand and caressing my cheek with the other, and gently pressed his lips to mine. I responded the only way I could and threw myself into it—hey, I was only human—by flinging my arms around his neck and fisting my hands in his hair. His lips responded to my urgency and I felt his tongue press against my bottom lip while one of his hands moved down to my hip and slowly moved up the bare skin of my back, under my shirt. _Well, this is new._

_Note to self: wear this outfit every day._

**EPOV**

I took a chance by slipping my tongue into her mouth, forcing it into a dance of intimacy with hers. I couldn't help but feel the soft skin of her back, which had been slightly tanned from the day she spent at a nearby lake laying out in the sun while I was hunting. I lifted her up off of her feet, pressing her tiny body close to mine, so she wouldn't have to reach as far up to kiss me. Beating heart or none—I was still a man. And Bella was an adorable, beautiful, amazingly _sexy_ woman. Too bad she didn't know about it. I wanted, so much, to take her upstairs and prove to her how incredibly alluring and desirable she was, but I knew I couldn't—not now, when she was human.

Knowing this and not wanting to lead her on, I extracted my mouth from hers and placed a few soft kisses along her jaw line before putting her back on her feet. A soft and satisfied sigh escaped her mouth, and I loved it. Still holding her close, I whispered in her ear, "Now do you believe me?"

"Hmm…no, I think I need more convincing."

"Trust me, love. Just wait until you're a vampire, then I can convince you however I want to." I gently kissed beneath her ear, and I could have sworn I heard a small moan escape her.

"So, what do you want to do now?" I asked her, and she gave me very mischievous glance before pulling me up towards her room. For the rest of the night, we just laid there, caressing each other's lips with our own. When she finally fell asleep around midnight, she laid her head gently on my chest and entwined her bare legs with my jean clad ones. It was about an hour into her sleeping state when the talking began.

"Mmmmm...Edward…so pretty." I had to chuckle at her sigh of adoration. She always said the cutest things, she was so endearingly sweet. She was perfect.

Apparently I laughed a little too loudly, because Bella opened her eyes slowly and gave me a nice albeit slightly irritated smile.

"Sorry, sweetheart. Go back to sleep." I said this in as much of a hushed whisper as I could manage while still being loud enough for her to hear.

"Don't be sorry, I love it when you wake me. You're better than an alarm clock." She let out a small laugh at her compliment, which was soon followed by a yawn.

"It's not even dawn yet, it's only three. You need to sleep."

"I don't want to, it's not fun. I'm bored."

"You're bored?" I gave her an incredulous look—leave it to Bella to say that she's bored at three o'clock in the morning.

She lifted her head gently from my chest, and nodded it before plopping it down back on my chest with a thud, which for a second I feared had injured her.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?" Her response came out muffled since her face was pressed into my shirt.

"What do you want to do?"

"Wanna talk? We haven't really talk talked in a while."

"I would love that. SO, what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. Just tell me anything I don't know about you."

"Okay, well that's fairly simple. Ummm, what do you want to know?"

"Anything you're willing to tell me."

"Well, I was born in Chicago as you well know. I don't really have that many human memories, though."

"Then tell me some vampire ones. You must have a funny story or two after one hundred and eight years."

"One hundred and nine."

"What? You told me you were only one hundred and eight?"

"I was when I met you. My 'birthday' was a few days ago."

The look on her face could only be described as pure horror when she looked up at me.

"WHAT? Edward, why didn't you tell me? I would have gotten you a present and been extra extra nice to you."

"Bella, first of all you are always 'extra extra nice to me'. Second of all, I didn't want to make a big deal about it. For my bicentennial you can do whatever you want, how 'bout that?"

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry I interrupted you, go on."

I continued telling her a few of my favorite vampire memories and believe me, there were very few that didn't include Bella. I had been talking for about an hour when I looked down, only to find a soundly sleeping Bella trying to grab onto my abdomen, but had to settle for fisting her hands in my shirt instead. She was the most magnificent creature, and was cute as a button when she slept.

***

The next two weeks flew by. It wasn't hard to believe, time always seemed to speed up whenever I was with Bella; I could never get enough of her intoxicating presence.

Today was about to go off in the same way as the past weeks—me cuddling up with Bella and watching a movie or even just simply talking, rediscovering each other. After all, our love was still fairly new (even though it didn't feel that way, because it was so…well…indescribable) and being apart from her and then being reunited—it just felt like we needed to truly _know_ each other. The first time around, we were so occupied with reveling in the feeling of new love, we never really got to know the things about each other that made us…us. Sure, we knew the basic things about the other, but we really never got into the little things—like how Bella organizes her breakfast cereal by sugar content, or how she cleans her vacuum with a handheld one and then cleans that with a duster(she was obsessively clean, which I greatly enjoyed teasing her about). She hadn't known that my favorite dancing phenomenon was the Macarena, which she now took a little too much pleasure in mocking me with.

Bella had just finished her breakfast when I heard someone's thoughts, bringing me out of my waking dreamland.

_I hope she's not mad. I hope she forgives me. Remember, be nice to her, she hasn't done anything—she saved your brother for God's sake._ Why would I hear Rosalie's thoughts?

_She better show me her closet, Jazz said it was huge. Maybe she'll go shopping with me when we get back!_ Alice? Where are they going, and why are they here?

_Oh, such a beautiful house, Carlisle said I would love the inside of it._ Now Esme's thoughts drifted through my head. Why are all of them here at once?

Bella must have noticed the confusion on my face, because she was soon snapping her fingers in front of me trying to gain my attention.

"Edward, what is it? Is something wrong?"

But the doorbell rang before I had time to answer her.

"I'll get that, angel. It's just Alice and Esme."

"Oh, I'll get it then. I haven't seen them in so long." There was a hopeful look on her face and I hated what I was going to tell her next.

"Rosalie is with them." Her face fell for a moment, but then a look of resignation dawned upon her features.

"That's okay, I can't avoid her forever. Besides, I'm sure she won't be that bad." Her voice was a small whisper, knowing that they could probably hear every word she was saying.

"Actually, her thoughts are all very guilty. She's hoping to make amends with you."

"What would there be for her to amend?"

"She feels like it's her fault that we were in Italy. If she hadn't called me and told me you were dead from drowning in a lake, then I wouldn't have known."

"Oh. Well—" She was cut off by the tinkling screech that came from our little pixie of a sister.

"Bella! Edward! We know you're in there! I can see you talking! Don't make me break down the door!"

We started laughing before Alice started banging on the door.

"Go, go! Please, before she breaks down my house!" I ran to the door at Bella's demand and opened it up to find my three loving family members.

"Where's Bella?"

"Hi to you too. She's in there." I pointed to the kitchen and she was off before I could warn Bella about the impending storm that was Alice.

"Edward, it's been so long, I've missed you." Esme brought me into a tight hug and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Mom, it's been two weeks."

"But still, that's a long time to go without seeing my son—_and_ my daughter."

It always made my heart soar whenever Carlisle or Esme called Bella their daughter. It meant that they truly did accept our love and they loved Bella as much as they loved me.

"Sorry, Mom. It won't happen again."

She gave me another tight squeeze before heading in the direction of the kitchen. Rosalie was standing there rather awkwardly, as if trying to figure out her next move.

_You're not angry are you?_ I shook my head silently, knowing she wanted to keep this conversation under wraps.

_Is she angry? Ugh, what am I saying, of course she's angry. She has every right to be. _

I slowly shook my head again.

_What are you shaking your head for? Wait, she's not mad?_

I shook my head once again. She molded her eyebrows together in confusion.

_Why not?_

I shrugged my shoulders. If I were Bella, I'd be pissed.

_Can I come in and talk to her?_ I nodded my head and she came in after giving me a pat on the back—that was Rosalie's version of a hug. The only person she ever gave an actual hug to was Emmett.

We both walked into the kitchen to join Bella, Alice, and Esme.

"So, where are the guys?"

"Jasper's in the middle of a five-part documentary on the Civil War, Carlisle had to stay at the hospital, and Emmett was in a wrestling mood today, so he's trying to annoy Jasper enough to get a punch thrown at him." Rosalie's answer gave us a hysterical round of laughter—Emmett was always trying to get Jasper to fight him. Usually I was his wrestling buddy, but he always called me a cheater because I could see his next move in his head.

"We actually came here to ask if Bella wanted to come on a little trip with us." Alice's voice rose high with excitement.

"Really, where?" I assumed they meant a little shopping trip to Port Angeles, so when Alice answered Bella, I was shocked.

"Well, we go to the Paris runway shows for the Haute Couture portion of it, so we were wondering if you wanted to join us this year?"

"Wow."

"Yeah, this year's lineup is the new Prada line, followed by Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy,  
Christian Lacroix, Franck Sorbier, Dominique Sirop, Giorgio Armani, Maison Martin Margiela, and of course, there will be the new Valentino line." You've got to love Alice. She gave Bella a look that pretty much told me she doubted Bella knew any one of those names, so I had to let out a small chuckle, and to my surprise, so did Bella.

"Umm, you know, I would absolutely love to go, but there are a few reasons why I can't." Alice's face turned from disappointment to determined in the batting of an eyelash, and I knew she was going to make Bella state every reason she had.

"Name them." Her voice held a challenging undertone.

"Okay. One—I could never be away from Edward that long." My heart inflated to ten times its size at this; I loved how much we needed to be near each other.

" Two—I have already seen every single design in the lines that you just mentioned." Huh, maybe she looked them up online or something.

" And three—I have a _lot_ of work to do." What work did she have? She had been mentioning a few things about new lines and sketches and trends—but I wasn't fully listening, I was too distracted by her lips.

**BPOV**

Alice's face held a mix of surprise and suspicion on her features when I gave her my explanation. Esme and Rosalie just looked floored by it.

"How have you seen the designs already?" This was Rosalie's question, and before I could answer, Alice let out an ear-piercingly loud "NO WAY!"

Rosalie seemed annoyed by her little outburst and gave her signature glare before asking "what?"

Alice looked at me expectantly, a knowing smirk on her face, so I assumed I was supposed to resume with my answer.

"Well, I have my own fashion design company now, but designers hire my company to create their new lines, so it's more of a fashion illustration company, I guess. So I send them the sketches, then they send me one of the samples they make of it in return and it usually comes with a nice check. So I created all of them, and the designers always invite me to go to these things because they want to meet me and I always say no because I love the job, but not the fame that comes with it." I was waiting for a laugh, or a scoff, or something that expressed their thoughts of how ridiculous this sounded. Bella—plain, boring Bella—having ties in the fashion world.

"Really? That…umm… that's unbelievable. I guess I should have gotten to know you better when I had the chance since it seems like you're pretty busy these days, huh?" Rosalie's eyes held a whole lot of apology and even more regret in their butterscotch irises.

"There's always time to catch up Rosalie. You know what, when you guys get back I'll take you to my favorite place to shop in Seattle. It can be a girls' day out, how 'bout that?" Her eyes lit up and she gave me a grateful smile, and then Alice—being Alice—started jumping up and down and I could see her mind calculating already. Esme just gave me the same hug she had given me when she first walked in. Edward was the only one that seemed a little less than excited about this—shopping wasn't exactly a celebration for him, unless it was for cars.

I went through the same routine with them as I did with the boys, showing them every room in the house. When Edward saw that I had a movie room and a movie theater (since he had left before I had shown them), I told him how I wanted one room that could be with his family and have all of the bells and whistles, while I wanted the other one to have a more intimate feel.

We were on our way to the main floor when Alice complimented me on my outfit. I was very grateful that I chose to dress up a little today. I was wearing my favorite pair of dark wash jeans, a new pink sequined tank with a cropped leather jacket over it that buttoned all the way down but was left open, and a pair of black Jimmy Choo peep-toe pumps. To accessorize, I wore some silver bangles as well as an oval white- gold ring that held a multicolored stone (the most prominent color being aqua) in the middle with white crystals surrounding it. And, of course, the crystal 'B' pendant that Edward had given me, hung around my neck.

"Hey, when are you guys leaving, anyway?" I realized they never mentioned the details of their absence.

Alice was the one to answer me, "Two days, which reminds me we still need to go hit the mall for some Paris-worthy ensembles. We'll be gone for about a month, maybe a little more if we decide to splurge on a shopping spree or two."

"Two days! And you just asked me an hour ago if I wanted to go with you?"

"Well, I knew you'd say no, duh. But we didn't want you to think that you weren't invited."

"Oh. You know, I have what I call a 'work closet' next to my office. It's a display room that has all of the samples of my designs, if you wanted to borrow them—that way it would save you some time, and money. And I know there are at least ten items in there that will fit each of you. I wouldn't mind if you guys borrowed them. Just please, please, please—DON'T DAMAGE THEM. I treat them like my children, so please be extremely careful."

"Oh, Bella, you're the best!" Alice didn't even finish her exclamation before she was off to my office.

When we got there, I opened the door that extended to the second half of the floor (well, it was more like three-quarters of it, I liked to work in smaller spaces so I kept my office on the smaller side). On the other side of the door was the display room. Several long, black shelves lined the walls—a mannequin placed occasionally on each one. In the middle, mannequins were placed on platforms to adorn the marble floor, bringing my most recent designs to life. Bright lights hung on the ceiling and lined the top of the shelves, illuminating the beauty of each individual piece.

"This is absolutely fabulous, Bella. These dresses are gorgeous. But are you sure? If they mean so much—"

"Thanks Rosalie, you can pick any ones you want. Think of it as free advertising. Besides, since you all could look stunning in a garbage bag, you'll be showing them at their best. Oh, I almost forgot, I have to show you something." I lead them into the back of the display room, to where my most prized designs were exhibited. They were on mannequins, in glass cases, and adorned with some free jewelry I received from various designers as a 'thank-you'.

"This is my couture exhibit. It holds my most precious designs. I'm sorry, but these are strictly off-limits."

Alice's face fell at this rule, making me feel a little on the guilty side.

"Why?"

"Sorry, Alice. These are just different. They aren't samples; I constructed them myself."

"Oh."

"But you still have the rest of the entire room to wear." Her face lit up as I reminded her of this. And it wasn't long before she had picked out twenty dresses for herself. When they were done, they left with very happy faces: Alice wouldn't stop screeching her excitement, Rosalie just said 'thank you' with a grateful smile and gave me one of her 'hugs', and Esme gave me a real hug as well as saying 'thank you' about five times.  
After they left, I guess Edward had been deprived of my attention for too long because as soon as I closed the door, he pulled me into his stone arms and started placing butterfly kisses on my neck and hair.

"How is it that you become more perfect every day?" he whispered just below my ear before placing another kiss on the lobe.

"It's a gift," I said jokingly, tilting my head back onto his shoulder so he could see my smile and have more access to my neck.

"I'm serious, Bella. You have no idea how much it meant to them that you would do that. And you're so creative, how is it that I never knew about that little talent of yours?" He gave me a disapproving look before I answered him.

"I don't know, I guess I just didn't think it would be that interesting to you."

"Everything about you interests me." He said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I knew it probably wasn't the best timing, but I just couldn't wait any longer—I was way too excited.

"Hey, can I show you something?"

**EPOV**

I was a little taken aback by her sudden question and was even more so when I looked into her eager eyes.

"Sure." The word came out a little more warily than I had planned.

"Okay, follow me."

I followed Bella down to the game room and through the doors that led outside. It was actually not raining today, which was a nice surprise. We then went down towards the back of the pavement that was an extension of her driveway, and stopped at a big, perfectly painted white garage—although it could have been mistaken for a house with its size.

"Okay, close your eyes." I was a little hesitant about following her demand, but obeyed her anyway.

"Can you see anything? Don't lie."

"Not a thing." It was true; although to make sure she actually believed me, I put my hands over my eyes.

"Okay, stay just like that, okay? Don't move." I heard her type in the code to the control panel on the side of the garage followed by the slow revealing of its interior.

Bella then came running back to me and pushed me forward—although that would never have actually moved me, I got the hint. When I sensed we were directly in front of the garage, in the entrance, Bella stepped behind me and put her own hands over mine, slowly pulling them away from my face.

"Open your eyes." Although her voice was a whisper, the nervous excitement was apparent.

I opened my eyes faster than I thought was even vampirically possible, and screamed like a little girl that just got a pony. In front of my eyes was the one and only McLaren F1, in all of its black speed demon glory. There was only one off thing about it—there was a gigantic red bow attached to the top of it.

Bella came to my side and when I looked down at her expectantly, she looked at me with a very self-satisfied expression on her face.

"Happy Birthday, Edward." And with those three words, she gave me the sweetest kiss that had ever been placed on my lips.

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**A/N: Sorry for the delay but I had a kind of mini emotional breakdown and was not in the writing mood for a while. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK!!! REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY, WHICH IN TURN WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY WHEN THE WRITING IS BETTER**


	10. Chapter 10: Surprise Guests

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the fabulous MickeyMC for being such an amazing reviewer!**

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BPOV

It had been two weeks since the day Edward had told me about his birthday, and I had finally revealed his present to him. The day after he told me, I suggested he go hunting because his eyes were starting to become more of an onyx than a golden shade. This, of course, was a lie, but I made it seem like I was truly concerned, and so he was off to the forest with his brothers within a half an hour. I used this rare alone time to place a custom order for his McLaren F1—one of, if not _the _fastest car in the world. I used the same place I custom ordered my baby, only a little ways away in Canada. They were very nice people, and excellent mechanics, so I went to them for my precious Edward's car. They had delivered the beautiful vehicle early this morning which I had arranged for them to, and so I told Edward to go out hunting again so I could make all the necessary preparations before the big reveal.

When he saw it, the look on his face was absolutely adorable—he was staring down at me with the biggest, most excited eyes that I had ever seen on his face, and the smile that accented those eyes practically reached the sky.

It contained a V12 engine, held a capacity of 6064cc, a horsepower of 627 bhp at 7400 rpm, a 6-speed manual transmission, a wheelbase of 107, and a top speed of 240 mph—going from 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. As I rattled off these facts to him, he just looked at me, shocked in utter amazement.

"Bella…how did you…when did you…where did you…God, I love you!" He brought me into a very tight embrace, efficiently cutting off my air supply.

"Edward… sweetie…need…breathe…" he somehow got the message from my strangled words and loosened his grip the slightest bit—allowing me enough room to breathe, but not enough room to move my arms so I could hug him back.

"So, do you like it?" I knew from his reaction that he did, but the insecure part of my brain just wanted to make sure he didn't find one flaw with it. He looked down at me, holding me at arm's length, and gave me a dubious look as if to say 'yeah, duh'.

"Do I like it?! Baby, I _LOVE_ it! It's absolutely perfect!" He must have really meant that, because he only ever called me 'baby' on two occasions—one: when we were heavily and passionately making out, and two: when he was in really, really,_ really_ high spirits.

"Oh, excellent! But if you drive it and decide you don't really like it that much then just tell me and I'll ret—", he cut me off by pressing his lips to mine. Once he let go, I guess he decided he hadn't expressed his gratitude enough.

"It's…it's…I'm speechless. I just don't know how to thank you enough. You really are the perfect girlfriend. I love you so much. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you," he kept repeating those last three words in between the kisses he was leaving all over my face, neck and collarbone.

"I love you too, Edward. I'm so glad you like it."

"You have no idea." And he gave me the sweetest, sexiest crooked smile that had ever been displayed upon his godlike features.

***

The next seven days flew by in a content and blissful state—we were so happy, it had to be considered bliss. However, all good things must come to an end eventually, so I learned when I was woken in the middle of the night by a loud banging on the front doors. Edward was hunting again (this time was _his_ decision, not mine), and so I started to get a little worried. Who in the world would bang on the door at four o'clock in the morning? My sleepy brain could only come up with two types of people: a relentless Jehovah's Witness, or a psychotic, ax- murdering, serial killer. Praying to the sweet Lord it was the former but not wanting to take any chances, I took a knife from the kitchen and went to open the front door.

"Who is it?" I meant to say this in a deep, intimidating voice, but it came out as more of a raspy squeak that was clearly full of fear.

"It's the boogeyman!" A booming voice responded to my question.

"Emmett? What the hell are you doing at my house at four o'clock in the morning?" Now I was kind of pissed. I mean I know I said they could come over any time at all, but that's just an expression.

"Open the door and we'll tell you." _We?_ _Who's with him? _I opened the door, only to find Emmett standing there, looking more bored than a guy at a screening of _Confessions of a Shopaholic. _Behind him was Jasper, who looked more than a little aggravated with Emmett.

"Hello, sweet brother. May I ask why you are banging on my door at four o-freaking-clock in the morning?!"

"Actually, we've been banging on the door since 3:30, what the hell took you so long?" I was about to argue that unlike some vampires I know, I actually have to sleep, but figured it would probably just be wasted time.

"What are you doing here?"

"Carlisle kicked us out." Emmett said this as if it was an obvious piece of information that I should already know.

"And why did Carlisle kick you out?"

"Emmett decided that it would be a good idea to wrestle in the living room instead of outside due to the fact that he thought it would be more challenging in a confined area." Jasper started to explain, but I just couldn't help my next words.

"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."

"Thank you, that is_ exactly_ what I told him. But _no_, he said we either wrestled in the living room, or no room."

"Why did you have to wrestle at all?" I asked, extremely apprehensive as to where this story was leading.

"Thank you again, that was also my second point. To which he replied, 'because I really want to kick your pansy ass'. I asked him why, and he just said he was bored. I was about to walk away when he decided that it would be a fabulous idea to throw me through the wall." Jasper shot Emmett an irritated look, which Emmett felt deserved a response.

"I didn't mean to throw you through the wall; I just meant to kick you in the stomach." Emmett tried to excuse his actions, but it was more like a pleading kid trying to justify stealing a cookie from the cookie jar right before dinner.

"Anyway, Carlisle got home from the hospital five minutes later and saw the huge hole that had gone all the way through so you could see the forest outside, then gave us a severe verbal spanking and kicked us out. He said we couldn't come back until the girls got home from Paris." Jasper finished the story, and I realized I didn't ask him if he was okay from Emmett's ambush.

"Are you alright? He didn't do any damage to you, did he?"

I gave him a concerned look, to which he smiled and replied, "Don't worry about me, darlin'. It would take a whole lot more to even put a scratch on me."

"Okay, so what are you guys here for?"

"Well, we were just wondering if, since we kind of don't have a home now, we could stay here with you until Carlisle lets us back home?" Emmett plastered a begging, puppy dog-eyed face and I just couldn't say no. After all, they were practically my brothers.

"Alright, fine. Come on in. Just please try and keep it down at night, some of us do have to sleep, you know."

Emmett gripped me into a tight bear hug and gave me a kiss on the cheek before ruffling my hair and saying "I'll be in the game room!" Jasper followed him inside and gave me a kiss on the cheek as well and saying 'thank you' before heading off after Emmett.

_Well, this should be interesting. _

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A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up and for it being so short, I had major writer's block. You know what cures writer's block? REVIEWS!!!!! YAY!!!!!!

Please, I'm desperate for love :)


	11. Chapter 11: Bad Idea

**A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!! YAY! So sorry about the wait, I know I hate it when people don't update. Thanks to my awesome reviewers who I can't thank enough for taking the time to do so! I hope you like this chapter! Let me know :)

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BPOV

It was close to marking the one hour anniversary of our new roommates, and I could already tell I was going to regret this decision. I tried falling back asleep after they went downstairs, but the incessant ringing and sound effects coming from the game room kept that from happening. _Next time, I'm making every room soundproof, or at least putting in thicker walls._ So in an effort to rid myself of the migraine in my skull at the moment, I retrieved a warm wash cloth from the bathroom and went to lie down on the sofa in the entertainment room. Resting my head on the arm of the sofa and putting the cloth over my eyes and forehead, I was finally starting to relax a little bit.

Apparently that was too much to ask for.

The front door then swung open again and closed, footsteps getting closer and closer. I didn't know who it was, and I honestly didn't even care enough to get up and see. Suddenly, two cold hands were on my face, and that honey voice I longed to hear was whispering in my ear.

"Bella, sweetheart, what are you doing up so early? Are you feeling all right? Is there anything I can do?"

I slowly lifted the cloth from my eyes, letting them rest on the Greek god before me. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little headache, no big deal. As for why I'm up, go downstairs and you'll find the reason." He gave me a glance of confused reluctance before eventually complying with my request. As he ran downstairs—determined, I'm sure, to regain the peace and quiet—I realized with extreme mortification that I had just opened the door to let Edward's brothers in while wearing my pink 'BRADY' jersey and gray sweatpants. This, by itself, would not have normally caused my embarrassment, except that this time it was accompanied by a pair of pink "Sweet Feet" fuzzy bunny slippers.

**EPOV**

What the hell was she thinking?

I don't know what I expected – maybe a wire gone awry, causing the incessant noise? Perhaps a blown fuse, effectively causing the electricity to malfunction? What I most certainly did _not _expect to find was the ping pong battle between my brothers, each playing one- handed while they simultaneously played pinball with their free hands.

"What for the love of all that is holy are you two imbeciles doing at five in the morning?!" I never truly yelled at them—but seriously, I was _pissed_.

"Dude, take a chill pill."

"Yeah, you're giving me some serious anger vibes right now."

"Hmmm, I wonder why?!" I was actually glad that Jasper could detect my intense frustration with them at the moment. Although it's not like he did anything to alleviate it.

They proceeded to tell me what had happened and how Bella said they could stay with us, at which point I started to sincerely be wary of her mental health. Then again, she was in love with a vampire, so I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.

When I returned upstairs, Bella was putting on her jacket and looking for her car keys.

"What exactly are you doing, love?" I could not come up with one solid reason she would be driving so early – in a state of exhaustion, no less. She gave me an irritated look and said, "I'm going out for a little bit to do some errands. I'd ask you to come, but I don't think you'd have much fun. Plus, without our little weathergirl, we don't know if it will be sunny today. I might be out for a couple hours, so don't wait around. You should take the McLaren out for a spin, or do something with Emmett and Jasper if you want." Something was off about her voice. Her whole posture was actually verging on defensive, as if I were about to attack her at any moment. With that final suggestion, she planted a kiss on my cheek and bolted out the door.

**BPOV**

It's weird how sometimes you can feel guilty, even when you know you aren't doing anything wrong. It's even weirder how sometimes that unjustified guilt can sicken you, so much so that you can feel physically drained because of it. Maybe that was why I've been so tired lately. I knew I lied about where I was going, but I just couldn't risk it. I _needed _this alone time. I _needed_ this silence.

I _needed _to not be asked what was wrong every time I didn't have a smile on my face.

_Where the hell did that come from?_

I honestly don't know what my problem was. I don't even know why I felt so guilty about going where I was going. It's not like I was being unfaithful. It's not like I was scoping the town for boyfriends. I was simply trying to relax. Is that really too much to request?

Pulling the car into the small abandoned area, I got out and went to the trunk to grab the bag I stashed there. I pulled out the small silver key from its side pocket, putting it in the lock and turning the knob to open the old cabin that I had transformed the inside of to match my pastime. Just walking through the doors relieved some of my stress.

I went behind the long accordion changing screen with the beautiful white blossoms painted across its golden canvas and changed into the set of clothes stored in the bag. Strolling across the polished hardwood floor, I made my way to the padded bamboo mat. After going through my normal routine to block all sounds from my mind, and then contorting my legs so they were perfectly folded upon each other and placing my knuckles on my knees while pinching my fingers together, my meditation began.

_Ahhhh, serenity. _

_Finally, silence. _

_***_

After all of my tension had melted away, I changed back into my normal clothes and left my hair in the twisted bun I had put it in. Now I needed to actually do some work. My clients had given me their deadlines, and if I wanted to meet them (and meet them with _good _designs), then I had to get started today. I already had a few sample drawings that I needed to construct so I could send pictures to the designers in order for them to see the concept first, and for this I needed fabric. Off to _Mood_, it is_. _

The drive to Seattle was smooth, thanks in large part to the early time. I had gotten many rolls of fabric, which barely fit into my car. The drive back was a bit longer, since most people were on their way to work. This only let all of the stress stemming from the upcoming weeks steal my focus once again.

By the time I had pulled into my driveway, I was one big ball of irritable tension. This was not helped at all when I opened the door to my humble (okay, not so humble) abode.

My eyes widened, and I'm pretty sure my mouth was catching flies with the way it was dropped to the floor. After a few minutes of recuperation, I pulled myself together before slamming the door closed. I wouldn't be surprised if steam was coming out of my ears.

I could not tear my eyes away from the chaotic _disaster_ that was my marble floor. In fact, the original texture of the flooring couldn't even be identified through the layers of dirt, grass, and blood stains that tainted its beautiful surface.

The door was apparently heard because in walked Emmett and Jasper, followed by an Edward whose expression could only be described as pure mortification—and fear, lots and lots of fear.

In the calmest voice I could muster, I asked them, "Does anybody want to tell me why my parlor floor looks like the last location of a rugby game?"

To this, no one responded. But hell if I wasn't going to make them talk.

"Tell. Me. What. Happened." As I enunciated each word, they all gave each other looks that said '_you_ tell her'. After another round of these glances, Emmett pushed Jasper forward, forcing the blonde vampire to speak first.

"Well, you see Bella, we went out hunting. Well, we got a little teensy-weensy bit carried away," those last five words were said in the highest soprano voice I have ever heard come from Jasper, "and ended up having a contest of who could take down five different animals the quickest. So, we…ummm…we kind of got into a fight…and, well, you know how we get. And we're gonna clean it up, we promise. We just didn't know what to use. So, that's it."

"And if it helps, this isn't half as bad as the entertainment room."

"Emmett!" Both Jasper and Edward scolded Emmett for revealing this little tidbit of information.

"What do you mean, 'not half as bad'?" I was about to blow a freakin' gasket, which I'm sure Jasper could sense. But once he tried to use his calming powers on me, I shot him a threatening glare and he immediately relinquished the influence.

I sped into the entertainment room despite their attempts to block me, and I swear I had a mini heart attack.

"_**Tell**_ me… that I am not looking at _blood _stains on my _carpet_." My voice was kind of scary, even to my ears.

"We're sorry." All three of them said at once, which would have been funny had I not been completely focused upon the catastrophe in front of me.

"You know what? It's okay." My voice was very high and squeaky—and should not be trusted.

"It's only a carpet. A _white _carpet. A white, _forty-thousand_ dollar, _one-of-a-kind_, Sotheby's carpet. That is now decorated with red and brown blotches." Tears of either anger or mourning were working their way up to visibility, and my voice was so unsteady that I almost couldn't make out the words.

I refused to look at them—the only punishment I could think of at the moment—and ordered them to clean everything up.

"Yes, ma'am." I wonder if this is how they speak to Esme?

***

A few hours later, I was up in my office working on the collections and constructing some designs. I had come up here immediately after the carpet fiasco, and thankfully had not been disturbed since. However, it did take me quite a while to get all of the fabric upstairs because of the long detour I had to take through the back entrance of the house.

I had accomplished one construction so far, and as long as I kept going at this rate, I should be done without any issues. After all, who needs sleep?

Edward, as sweet as can be, came in shortly after I finished the first construction with hot chocolate—to appease me, I'm sure.

"Hi, sweetie." I gave him a smile to let him know that I was very happy to see him, and also that I wasn't mad at him.

"Hello, love. I brought you some of your favorite hot chocolate if you want some." I drank from the cup happily, letting him know he had outdone himself with it. With a quick kiss on the lips, he left me to my work.

***

The next couple of days went by in a blur. Emmett and Jasper had quieted down; although I kept waiting for the day that another incident would ensue.

I _barely_ saw Edward, only when he came up to demand that I sleep. At which point, I would say that I'd sleep eventually, but I had to get my work done. This he did _not_ like, but being the supporter that he is, he always left with a simple "love you."

I was on my sixth day of designs when Edward came in early with that crooked smile I loved so much.

"Hey, do you want to go out somewhere with me? We can go to our meadow if you'd like. You deserve a break after working so hard." He started rubbing my back gently and his voice was so hopeful; I hated to let him down.

"I wish I could, Edward. You have no idea how appealing that sounds, but I can't afford to take any breaks." I put as much genuine regret in my tone as possible.

And just like that the smile fell.

"But Bella, I feel like I haven't seen you in days."

"I know, honey, I know. It's just that I have to get these done on time or else I'll lose some of my biggest clients." I hated to sound like a workaholic, but this was my passion and I couldn't stand to lose it. He removed his hand before walking towards the door and I felt the loss instantly.

"I know it's important. I just miss you, that's all."

And he walked out of my office with the saddest look I had ever seen.

***

I finished my constructions the next day, thank God, and immediately fell asleep on the floor with a thud after cutting off the last string on the hem of the final dress.

**EPOV **

I knew I was overreacting, but something felt very wrong between me and Bella. I hadn't talked to her—I mean _really_ talked to her—in a whole _week_. I knew she was working hard, but I couldn't help but feel a little bit rejected. So I decided I would make a date night for when she was finished—and well rested. She was sleeping now, finally, after a very long sewing marathon she held in her office.

I had walked in after hearing a subtle thump from upstairs, and found her passed out on the floor. Trying my hardest to not go the whole "I told you so" route, I took her upstairs and laid her gently in my bed, for hers was still unmade from the day she let my brothers in our home.

Emmett and Jasper were off somewhere keeping themselves entertained—I had bribed (okay, threatened) them to stay out of Bella's way so they wouldn't bother her and keep her away from me longer.

Being freed of my brothers, I laid down beside Bella—something I hadn't been able to do for a long time.

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**A/N: Again, sooooo sorry for the massive and unacceptable update wait-- I promise I'll do my best to update faster. The next chapter is already started! :) Please review to let me know you still like me...or at least are still reading.**


	12. Chapter 12: Romantic Gesture

**BPOV**

I woke up at noon the next day, alarmed that I was not surrounded by two marble arms of perfection, but instead laying on an elegant piece of stationary.

_Sweetest Bella, _

_I apologize for my absence, my darling, but it is a promise I must keep to myself. I have planned a surprise for you this evening, and in order to keep it one I must not encounter you today, for your eyes make it impossible to resist the temptation of reveal. You are so special to me, my angel, that I wanted to give a special night to you, one that you will cherish forever in your memory—even when your heart has stopped its beautiful beat. I will be near and watching all day—I could never leave you completely alone for that long. I love you with my entire being._

_Your heart,_

_Edward_

I read it over and over and over again for more than an hour, stunned at the gesture. My misty eyes took in the words and I wondered how I could have ever been so incredibly, indefinably lucky to have found this man. After placing the note on Edward's bedside table, I walked to the bathroom down the hall and hopped in the shower, all the while contemplating what this wonderful person could be up to.

The steam of the shower felt nice, undoing all of the knots that were put in my back by that grueling sewing. When I stepped out of the shower stall, I walked over to sit at the vanity. Opening the drawer on the top left to retrieve my makeup, I found another note inside as its replacement.

_Thy beauty is one not to be compared_

_To that that is so widely, universally shared_

_By those that know not the true meaning behind_

_A beauty that is so uniquely divine_

_Without the artificial beauty made_

_A beauty like thine shall be one never to fade_

I read it over again, trying to find the clue hidden inside. _Without the artificial beauty made? _Oh… okay, message received: no makeup. Edward has always told me he loved me without it. _Well, at least that's one less thing to do. _

The next two hours passed by quickly after I dried off. I spent them trying to figure out what the heck I was going to wear tonight. Were we staying in? Were we going out? If we were, where were we going? What type of clothing should I wear? Something simple? Something fancy? Dare I say something _sexy_? A girl needs to know these things. I went back to my bedroom, sick of staring at my clothes with no location to go by. When I got there, my eyes dropped to where there was a gorgeous silk and satin champagne colored evening dress. If longer, it could have been a gown that one would wear to the Oscars. Attached to the top was a note:

_Angel,_

_I saw this in the window of a boutique I found, and immediately knew it was made just for you. Please wear it tonight, if you wish, for I know it will only add to your already exponential beauty. _

_All my love,_

_Edward_

I slipped on the dress after putting the note with the others, taking in the soft feel of the fabric. It stopped about three and a half inches above my knees, making my legs look longer than they were. I had the perfect pair of shoes to go with it, and since there was not a pair accompanying the dress, I walked to my closet in my bare feet. I searched for the shoes and pulled them from their place on the shelf, placing them on my feet where they belonged. They were a gorgeous pair of sequin Christian Louboutin peep toe pumps that complimented the tone of the dress perfectly.

Now for jewelry.

Wanting to be simple, I picked a pair of dogwood earrings with the matching necklace, the slight golden tone matching the silky satin. After accessorizing, I went straight back to the vanity in the bathroom, gathering my hair supplies. On my hairbrush was a note:

_Let the final touch be simple_

_One that is not a stranger to myself_

_One that is loved by _your_self_

_One that is everything you are_

_One that is all you ever have been_

_One that you will always be to me_

_Perfection_

The note was placed with the previous three as I sniffled my way through doing my hair, touched by his words. My hair ended up being left down, in the loose, natural curls it was always in. A small diamond snowflake pin held up the loose strands at the sides, bringing the tendrils to the back of my head. Now all I had to do was wait. It was then I realized I had no idea what time I would see him again. I went back to my bedroom and on the clock was another note:

_The hour when we first met_

_Will be the hour we meet again_

_For that was when you took my heart_

_And when it all began_

_When we first met?_ We met in Biology, but that was at twelve o'clock in the afternoon. It's five-thirty now, so that can't be it. _Wait, we had it sixth hour, so…six o'clock it is. _

What was I going to do for another thirty minutes?

***

It was six o'clock when I received a text message on my cell phone. Automatically I knew it was from Edward.

_Meet me where our home first began._

Without a thought, I knew exactly where to go. I flew down the stairs to the parlor, and gasped at the sight before me.

Edward was standing there in a black tuxedo, gorgeous as ever with his bright bronze hair in its natural craze. Surrounding him were hundreds of ruffled tulips, my favorite flower.

"Oh, Edward…I don't…", I tried to speak, but tears started flowing. He was in front of me before I could speak another word, holding me to his chest, his face pressed against mine with his lips at my ear.

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." He recited one of my favorite lines, and the tears started flowing faster with the meaning behind them.

"Edward, I'm…I'm so…Thank you. Thank you so much." I surprised myself by managing to get those words out, and kissed him with everything I had.

***

Our evening began to pass with a blissful ease. Edward fed me each bite of the Italian dinner he had cooked, and I tried my best to keep my moans of delight to a minimum. We cuddled on the couch after that while watching a movie, which turned out to be a surprising favorite of Edward's. He even recited his favorite lines in my ear the entire time, kissing the spot below my ear (effectively distracting me from the movie) after each line.

"I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss from her mouth, one touch of her hand, than eternity without it," he whispered, blowing a soft kiss on my earlobe.

At that I turned around, straddling his lap and placing my hands on his face, "I love you, so much. Do you have any idea how amazing you are?"

He shook his head slowly as his eyes softened from my words, and placed both of his hands on my face, moving them from their previous home on my hips.

"Do you have any idea how amazing _you _are?" He repeated my question, and I couldn't help but say,

"No, but I think I'm starting to get the idea."

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**A/N: Hey guys, sorry this is so short I just didn't want to make you wait any longer...please review, seriously please please please :)**

**P.S. Anybody know how the beta process works? I am now the beta for someone but neither one of us know how it works...so if you could please pm me it would be I've tried putting this story on Twilighted due to request, but apparently my grammar and punctuation sucks, so if anyone would like to help me with that it would be FANTASTIC!!! Thank you all for reading, update will be sooner than this one, probably tuesday cuz i have it off. :) Links are all on my profile**


	13. Chapter 13: The Luck We Have

**_*peeking out from behind closed door* _What's this? An update? It couldn't possibly be! Oh, but it is, my dear friends. I haven't gone anywhere, just suffered a severe bout of writer's block. Happens all the time. You may want to reread the last few chapters since it's been months (unacceptbale, I know) since my last update. Review if you feel the need, don't if you don't. :D**

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**BPOV**

You know how sometimes a moment is just so perfect, so incredibly ideal that you wonder how it could possibly be happening? You know you need to cherish it, because you feel as though one word spoken too loudly, one movement made too fast, will somehow burn the moment into dust? This was one of those moments.

So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when the lights went out.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me."

"It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say—you don't have the impairment of human night-blindness."

"This is true. Would you like me to get some candles?"

"Sure. There should be some matches in the cabinet next to the fridge."

"I'll be right back, darling."

"Thank you."

He returned a moment later, candles in hand.

"Umm, I think the point of candles is to light them, no?"

He chuckled before giving me his explanation, " I just couldn't find the matches where you said, and they weren't anywhere else in the kitchen."

"Damn! I must have used them up. Now how are we going to light them?"

"Sorry, honey. I think we're going to have to stick it out in the dark until the power comes back on."

"That's just freakin' fabulous. Why can't anything ever work out the way we want it to?"

"I guess we got too lucky with each other, so now our streak is over. I don't know about you, but I know _I'm _okay with that."

He saw the look in my vulnerable eyes, coming to the reclining loveseat, sitting down next to me.

I found this unacceptable.

"No, no, no. You come right here." I patted my lap and he seemed hesitant at first, afraid that his weight would crush me. Knowing that it would not, and knowing how much effort he was exerting to keep his weight off of me, I pulled him down in my lap. Of course I couldn't really pull him down to me, but he complied for the sake of intention.

We sat like that for awhile, me reclining the sofa after a few minutes to stretch out my legs and relieve some of the pressure on my lap. The movement shifted my body down on the couch slightly, enough to place Edward's head from my lap to my stomach. Our silence was comfortable, easy at first. But soon a tension was built within the movement of the air.

My mind reviewed the past week, my thoughts going in to how much I had worked—and also how little I saw of Edward. He would only ever pop in to see how I was doing, keeping my human needs in check when I forgot about them. He was only helping me, and I snapped at him every time.

I thought back to the day he asked me to go to the meadow, the day I had rejected him. This memory brought on a tsunami of guilt in my direction, and I looked down at the beautiful, peaceful man with his eyes closed in my lap. The way he folded into me and clutched the silky material on my stomach made it seem as though he were sleeping, although I knew it was impossible. He was so serene, so angelic, that the guilt multiplied by about a million with one glance at his quiet face.

I suddenly felt the overwhelming need to cry. I needed to love this man properly, which is exactly what I had not been doing lately.

Tears leaked out of my eyes before I could stop them, and a sob escaped my mouth as if I had no control over it. His head immediately snapped up, smelling the salty wetness on my cheeks and hearing the cry that had left my mouth.

"Bella? _Bella,_what's wrong?"

This only made me cry harder—he was always so caring about me, and I had never once cared that way for him.

"Oh, Edward…" I covered my face with my hands in a poor attempt to muffle the whimpers that were escaping.

"What's wrong love? _Talk_ to me."

"I am such a horrible person. I've been neglecting you and working so much that I never spend any time with you anymore…and after all I've done, or _not_ done, you should despise me for it…and yet you still made this special night for me…and all I can think is that I am so damn _lucky_ to have you but there is no way that I deserve you. You are always so caring about me, always telling me you love me. I've told you…what?..._once_ in the past five weeks that I love you too? That's _horrible_, Edward. _Horrible_." After my muffled rant, he gently pried my fingers from my face. I couldn't look at him—I refused to look at him. I would not be able to handle the resentment he would carry in his golden irises for me. I diverted my gaze for as long as I could before he tilted my head up in a gentle but forceful manner. I knew he wanted me to look at him, but I still knew that would be impossible.

"Look at me, Bella." I stubbornly closed my eyes, teardrops still squeezing their way out.

"Baby, _look_ at me." The endearment caught my attention, so I opened my eyelids slowly, meeting his burning eyes in the process. Replacing the resentment I predicted was an overwhelming mix of love, worry, and even some anger.

"Why would you ever think you were not good enough?"

"Edward, don't try to persuade me, here. I can't take it. I don't know why, I just…can't."

"I will not try to _persuade_ you Bella, I am trying to find the reason for your doubts. Sweetheart, I need to know what brought this on. I need to know how to fix it. Please, Bells, let me in."

"What did you just call me?"

"Sweetheart?"

"No, the last one."

"Oh. Bells?"

"Yeah, that. You've never called me that before."

"I'm sorry, Bella, I just thought…"

"No, no. I like it."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Why?"

"It reminds me that you're not only my boyfriend, but my best friend."

"As you are mine."

"Really, I am?"

"Of course, who else would it be?"

"I don't know. Emmett or Jasper, even Carlisle."

He let out a loud laugh after I said this.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just that those three people are like brothers and a father to me, and _maybe_—before you—I would have named them my best friends. But a best friend is someone you want and can actually tolerate to be near all the time. The only person that applies to is you."

Luckily, that was enough of a distraction for him to move on from the conversation and retreat back into our comfortable silence.

A short time later, my hand was gliding through his hair, but I was startled by a strange noise I heard. I listened more closely, it was sublte, but it was definitely there.

"Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you hear that?"

"Mmm…hear what?"

"That sound."

"What sound?"

"Never mind, I think I was just hearing things."

"Okay."

The noise started again, and it began to get louder. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. I tested my theory by scratching my nails on his scalp, at which point the noise became even louder.

"Edward, is that…is that…you?"

"Is what me?"

"That noise you're making. Are you…are you _purring_?"

"You can hear that?"

"Yeah, a little bit."

"Wow, that's …yeah that's very embarrassing."

"Why is that embarrassing?"

"Because it is not a human sound."

"Why does that matter? It's sexy, as well as incredibly adorable and endearing."

"You think my cat noises are sexy?"

"And adorable."

"Well in that case, please don't stop what you're doing. It feels _amazing."_

I continued the motion of my hand and couldn't help but become entirely content with the way my life was.

This beautiful, loving, romantic soul was mine, and I could not have been happier.


End file.
